1897 CUBAN SOUVENIR PESOS! This post is not an historical account about The Spanish-American War. It is a snip of numismatic history about the what, why and wherefore of the 1897 Cuban Silver Souvenir Pesos. Our snip of numismatic history begins in 1897, a full year before the sinking of the battleship USS Maine and the historic victorious charge of the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Way back in 1897 Cubans seeking sovereignty from the tyrannical rule of Spain secretely put together a Revolutionary Junta headed by Don Thomas Estrada Palma designating him as the Plenipotentiary Delegate of the Republic of Cuba (in arms) and bestowed on him the responsibility of raising funds for the Cuban cause in the United States of America. He was, also, given the power to negotiate deals he thought would hasten Cuba's independence. Palma chaired numerous fund raising events from New York City to Tampa and Key West. At a New York City rally one attendee, Andrew J. Cobe, a "wheeler-dealer," listened intently to Palma's Cuba Libre petitions and hatched an idea that might appeal to Palma and net himself a tidy sum of money. Cobe's idea involved striking a souvenir coin similar to the 1892-1893 Columbian Half Dollar. Cobe refined his idea and sent a letter, spelling out the details, to Palma. Palma loved the idea and the two reached an agreement on April 17, 1897. A contract for the striking of 3,000,000 souvenir Pesos was signed on May 10, 1897 stipulating the first installment consisting of 10,000 coins to be delivered within sixty days. Cobe strikes an agreement with Phillip Martiny, a designer, sculptor and medalist to prepare the dies. Feeling the project is for a worthwile cause Martiny foregoes any monetarium donating his artistry as a contribution to the plight of the Cuban people. Cobe made an arrangement with the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island to strike the coins. The initial 10,000 coins were finally delivered, but the full amount originally contracted for was never reached. Due to die changes there are three major varieties of these 1897 Souvenir Pesos: The following photos are courtesy of Coins of Cuba Variety 1 Wide Date: http://coinsofcuba.com/index.php/revolutionary-coinage/135810/1897-souvenir-peso-type-i-pat-97.html Variety 2 Close Date (Star After 97 Low): http://coinsofcuba.com/index.php/re...897-souvenir-peso-type-ii-stars-below-97.html Variety 3 Close Date (Star After 97 High): http://coinsofcuba.com/index.php/re...897-souvenir-peso-type-ii-stars-above-97.html Hope you enjoyed this post... Clinker
Although strictly a US collector I sometimes find myself questioning my collection "path". Most especially after I read a trivia thread authored by our esteemed Clinker. I truly enjoyed the "read" and the designs of the pieces linked... PS: you might want to "proof" that title (1987) old fellow...
Nice read as expected. I like the coins too. Never seen them before, but then again I never gave cuba currency any thought.
