Completed a type set of early Cuban Pesos
FC57Coins
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There were three issues of Cuban pesos from the time of independence in 1902 until Castro's takeover in 1959. The first silver peso appeared in 1915 and was issued sporadically until 1934. The theme of the obverse is the "Lone Star" which is what the Cuban flag is named. The reverse shows the Cuban coat of arms. The second type, which went from 1934 to 1939 is my favorite. This art deco style piece came into being after a coup-de-etat put a new government in power, and the group that kinda helped things along was called the "ABC society". The reason for this name is that, in order to remain annonymous, society members were refered to by cells they belonged to, which were the letters A, B, or C. After 1939, the peso reverted back for a few years to it's original design. I'm not sure why, because I think the second issue is beautiful. Finally in 1953, Cuba issued a circulating commemorative to Jose Marti - who was the founding father of Cuban independence. Another interesting aspect of these coins is that they were referred to as "Pesos Machos" which means exactly what it implies - there were pesos with the same specifications as American silver dollars and traded on a par with American dollars. However, because of the general instability of the government - whenever you ran into a silver peso or into American dollars, the tendency was to put them aside just in case. Many a silver peso, silver dollar, and American $20 bills found themselves burried in gardens throughout Cuba when Castro took over.
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