Governorate of Cuba (1511-1607), Captaincy General of Cuba (1607-1899), Military Government of Cuba (1899-1902), Republic of Cuba (1902-present)
Spanish Colony (1511-1899), United States Territory (1899-1902), Independent Country (1902-present)
Location: Greater Antilles
Capital City: Baracoa (1511-1514), Santiago de Cuba (1514-1589), Havana (1589-present)
Government type: Spanish Colony (1511-1899), Military Administration (1899-1902), Republic (1902-1961), Communist Republic (1962-present)
Main languages: Spanish
Main religions: Catholic Christianity, Atheism
Chronology
1511: Spain first establishes a colony in Cuba
1511-1777: Subordinated to Santo Domingo
1762-1763: Ocucpied by Britain
1868-1878: Unsuccessful Cuban War of Independence (Ten Years' War)
1899: Spain cedes Cuba to the United States after the Spanish-American War, the island is administered by an American military government
1902: Independence as the Republic of Cuba
1902-1934: Under US Protectorate
1906-1909: Occupied by the United States
1955-1958: Communist insurgency that eventually takes over
1961: Cuba declared to be a Socialist Republic
Currency
First Peso (1870-1898)
1 Peso = 100 Centavos
Second Peso (1914-present)
1 Peso = 100 Centavos
Convertible Peso (1994-2020)
1 Peso = 100 Centavos
Note: From 1994 to 2020, Cuba used two currencies, the Peso (Peso Nacional), the standard currency, and the Convertible Peso, partly based on the earlier INTUR (National Institute of Tourism) issues, meant for use by visitors, to separate the planned economy in most of the country from the lucrative tourism sector, which also had the effect of dividing services and facilities between those accessible to foreigners and those accessible to Cubans, something that garnered much criticism since what was available to foreigners was usually of much better quality than what the locals could access, and giving a huge economic advantage to Cubans working in the tourism sector. Unlike the Peso Nacional, the Convertible Peso was pegged 1:1 to the US Dollar, making it 24 times more valuable (going by the official exchange rate of the Peso Nacional.) In practice, the two currencies began to mingle by the mid-2010s, being used interchangably by Cubans, and the economic segregation began to break down, with plans to scrap the Convertible Peso being floated as early as 2013. As Cuba entered a major economic crisis in the 2020s, the Convertible Peso was formally demonetized in 2021, and Cuba now only uses the Peso Nacional.
Coins from Cuba in the collection
First Republic (1902-1961)
•1 Centavo, 1943 (brass, Philadelphia mint, KM#9.2a)
•5 Centavo, 1915 (cupronickel, Philadelphia mint, KM#11.1)
•5 Centavo, 1920 (cupronickel, Philadelphia mint, KM#11.1)
•5 Centavo, 1946 (cupronickel, Philadelphia mint, KM#11.3)
•10 Centavo, 1915 (silver (.900), Philadelphia mint, KM#A12)
•50 Centavo, 1953 (silver (.900), Philadelphia mint, KM#28) Commemorative: 100th Birthday of José Martí
Communist Republic (1961-present)
•1 Centavo, 1961 (cupronickel, Kremnica mint, KM#9)
•1 Centavo, 1972 (aluminum, Leningrad mint, KM#33.1)
•5 Centavo, 1968 (aluminum, Kremnica mint, KM#34)
•5 Centavo, 1981 (cupronickel, KM#412) INTUR visitor's coinage
•10 Centavo, 1981 (cupronickel, KM#414) INTUR visitor's coinage
•10 Centavo, 1988 (aluminum, KM#416) INTUR visitor's coinage
•10 Centavo, 1989 (cupronickel, Havana mint, KM#415.2) INTUR visitor's coinage
•20 Centavo, 1962 (cupronickel, Leningrad mint, KM#31)
•25 Centavo, 1981 (cupronickel, KM#418) INTUR visitor's coinage
•25 Centavo, 1988 (aluminum, KM#419) INTUR visitor's coinage
•25 Centavo, 1989 (cupronickel, KM#418) INTUR visitor's coinage
•1 Peso, 1989 (brass, Kremnica mint, KM#105)
•1 Peso, 1991 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#366) Commemorative: 500th Anniversary of Hispano-America (Queen Joanna)
•1 Peso, 1995 (nickel-plated steel, KM#607) Commemorative: FAO (50th Anniversary of the FAO)
•1 Peso, 2014 (brass-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#347)
•3 Peso, 1995 (brass-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#346a)
•1 Convertible Centavo, 2005 (aluminum, KM#733)
•1 Convertible Centavo, 2006 (copper-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#729)
•5 Convertible Centavo, 1998 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#575.2)
•5 Convertible Centavo, 1999 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#575.2)
•5 Convertible Centavo, 2000 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#575.2)
•5 Convertible Centavo, 2002 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#575.2)
•5 Convertible Centavo, 2013 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#575.2)
•10 Convertible Centavo, 1994 (nickel-plated steel, Sherrit mint (Fort Saskatchewan), KM#576.1)
•10 Convertible Centavo, 1996 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#576.2)
•10 Convertible Centavo, 2000 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#576.2)
•10 Convertible Centavo, 2002 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#576.2)
•10 Convertible Centavo, 2008 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#576.2)
•25 Convertible Centavo, 1998 (nickel-plated steel, Sherrit mint (Fort Saskatchewan), KM#577.1)
•25 Convertible Centavo, 2003 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#577.2)
•25 Convertible Centavo, 2006 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#577.2)
•50 Convertible Centavo, 2002 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#578.2)
•1 Convertible Peso, 1998 (nickel-plated steel, Havana mint, KM#579.2)
Banknotes from Cuba in the collection
Spanish Colony (1511-1899)
•1 Peso, 1896 (King Alfonso XIII (1886-1899), P#47)
•5 Peso, 1896 (King Alfonso XIII (1886-1899), P#48)
First Republic (1902-1961)
•1 Peso, 1949 (P#77)
Communist Republic (1961-present)
•3 Peso, 2004 (P#127)
•5 Peso, 1984 (P#103)
•1 Convertible Peso, 1994 (P#FX37)
•3 Convertible Peso, 2006 (P#FX47)