I picked these up in a lot. all weights and diameters are within specs. They match all the on-line photos I compared them to. Coins are unc to BU. Anyone suspect they may be fake. Not a lot of Uncirculated Cuban coins out there to compare them to. These are now flowing into the US. I posted elsewhere, but I wanted to re-post with photos that could be enlarged for closer inspection. Thanks, Mike I accidentally posted in US forum. Perhaps one of the Mods could move to the World Coins. Thanks, been a long day.
The fakes coming into the (US/Foreign) market can be extremely deceptive. Too good to tell from photos. If you have several coins of the same date and type, see if you can match up similar contact marks. If you do, send both pieces to a TPGS for confirmation.
+1 and I can see a market for pre revolution coinage from Cuba. Just the fact they are unc. Makes me nervous but one never know what may surface from estate sales.
I collect Cuban coins. Have for years. I agree unc is uncommon but I believe they are genuine. I would have added them to my collection in a heart beat. Well done!
Americans, at least, traveled to and from Cuba much more frequently and freely prior to 1959. I'd imagine it was common to take home coins from the island as souvenirs or as pocket change from having gone there. Upon returning home there was nothing you could really do with these coins except stash them away in a dresser or the like. It's possible they were simply removed from the island shortly after minting. This may well be why these coins remain in such nice condition.
Thanks Bret, I feel a little better. I got a total of 20 and all look like these. I might send one of each year to a tpgs and see what happens. Cost might be more than value of coins however. But you never know.
There is nothing suspicious about any of them. Also, they are all common in mint state. And I wouldn't bother having any of them slabbed, none would get high enough grades to make it worthwhile... a.k.a. MS66 or higher
I'm a little concerned they are all late die state but then I'd be much more concerned if the were all early die state. Otherwise I see no obvious problem.
What I would like to dredge up out of Cuba are the pre-1935 examples of US currency that then circulated there - since Cuba didn't introduce their own currency until that year. They minted coins starting in 1916, but the paper money was American until '35.
Well, I'm Cuban, and I have quite a few pre-1959 coins. Not because I collect them, but because they were gifts from family, etc. The bottom 2 look pretty legit. Not sure about the four top ones as I don't have examples of those, but the star on the obverse and shield on the reverse look pretty authentic to me...at least the way it should look on pre-1959 coinage.
Yes, during the Spanish colonial era up until 1898 they did. But until 1935 they didn't have a unique Cuban currency.
True but that's not what you said..... and it stands for reason why most tropical countries never had paper currency . .....as paper rots in the tropics very rapidly .
It had less to do with tropical rotting of paper, ie they did use American paper money, and a lot more to do with a general lack of confidence in a locally issued currency - ie all the notes from the Spanish era were demonetized. When paper money was issued in 1935 it closely resembled American currency and was printed by the BEP - in fact they were "Silver Certificates" ie payable in silver.
