Cuban ABC Peso. First the coin: Carries the Cuban Coat of Arms (el Escudo Cubano) on the obverse. Minted 1934 through 1939. Only Cuban coin with the Cuban Coat of Arms not centered on obverse. A. Cuban Coat of Arms off-center to the right. B 9000 Fineness at top left C 26.7295 g beneath fineness D UN PESO two lines to left of the Cuban Coat of Arms E Legend REPUBLICA DE CUBA two lines at bottom Miguel de Teurbe Tolon was the creator of the Cuban Coat of Arms. The Cuban Coat of Arms consists of three sections, crowned by the Phrygian Cap (Gorro Frigio) or Liberty Cap that has a single star, with the border surrounded by an oak branch on the left and a laurel wreath on the right. The oak branch represents the might of the nation and the laurel wreath Honor and Glory. The Liberty Cap depicts freedom, and the lone star on the Liberty Cap stands for Independence. These symbols represent the rights of man: Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. In the first top section, there's a key symbolizing Cuba’s geographical position (between South America and North America), with the glory of a bright rising sun in the background. In the section located to the left are the vertical stripes, representing the three departments which divide the island: Eastern, Central and Western. In the section, toward the right, are pictures of mountains, rivers, the valley and, most evident, the national tree of Cuba (a royal palm) representing the richness of Cuba's soil. Now the reverse of the ABC Peso: A Female bust left of center facing right B Lone star with glory upper right C PATRIA Y LIBERTAD three lines to right of center D Date at bottom right In 1934 not only was the first ABC Peso struck late in the year, but the regular Star Reverse Peso was struck earlier in 1934. 3,000,000 Star Pesos were struck and 7,000,000 1934 ABC Pesos were struck. Why is it called the ABC Peso? There was a lot of turmoil in Cuba during the last years of Gerardo Machado y Morales' oppressive rule. A general uprising in August 1933 with the full support of the Cuban army forced Morales into exile. Out of that chaos a few politicians and businessmen formed a group to deal with it. The group was known only as the ABC group so they could clandestinely work behind the scenes to achieve stability in Cuba, Some of the members of this secret group were senators. Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar was voted chairman of the senate. In 1936, under his leadership the senate developed enough clout to impeach the then President of Cuba, Miguel Mario Gomez. The ABC group was responsible for the change in the design of the peso, but disbanded in 1940 when Batista was elected President of Cuba. Clinker
That was a great piece of history wrapped up in a coin design, thanks Clinker. Your trivia postings are a great addition to the forum.
Communist Cuban coins. Clinker,there are actually quite a few coins that do not have the Cuban Coat-of-Arms on the obverse.The Communist Cuban 3 Pesos coin depicts Che Guevara on the obverse & the Cuban Coat-of-Arms on the reverse.If you have a copy of the 20th Century Krause (which has a black cover),you will see what I mean. Aidan.
You're right. A lot of Cuban coins of all denominations do not have the COA on the obverse, but, of all the coins that do have the COA on them the ABC Pesos are the only ones that are not centered. Clinker
Mikjo0: Thanks for the visuals. It sure adds to the article. I have a 1935 in my collection, but can't use my left hand, due to a stroke, to photograph it and post it. (I collect my birth year coins {1935} in silver). Clinker
ABC Peso Trivia I also find it interesting that the ABC Peso seems to be inspired by the medal struck to honor both Mambises (i.e., Cuban veterans who fought against Spain in the Second War for Independence, 1895-1898) and US veterans - except done in reverse. The medal has a female bust right of center facing left and a lone star with glory on the upper left. There are four lines to left of center LA PATRIA A SUS LIBERTADORES. On the obverse we have the Coat of Arms off center and to the left. The ABC Peso female bust and the COA are clearly art deco designs and the medal's female bust looks more "classical" in design. Other than that, I guess the ABC Peso designers must have considered the (by the 1930s) old medals and said, "this is what we want."
Thanks creeker1, for the additional info. Quite a bit of history generated by a popular Cuban coin. Clinker
maybe this is OK. Are there anything to these coins by chance thanks the quality isn't too good, my camera is dead, so I scanned these
johndo: I think the 10 centavos is worth $12 and the 20 centavos is worth $8. The 10 centavos is the scarcer coin and is beginning it's climb up the value ladder. This is my opinion and others here may disagree. Hope they give their ideas as to what the coins are worth. Clinker
Johndo,the silver 40 Centavos is a scarce coin that is worth looking out for,not only because of its unusual denomination.Communist Cuba also issued a cupro-nickel 40 Centavos in 1962.It is not Fidel Castro who is depicted on the Communist Cuban 40 Centavos,but someone called Cienfuegos. Aidan.
Thank's Clinker, Aiden I was checking out web site last night that had pictures on World coin Gallery and I have another 1 or 2 that I didn't see on the site, I can post more pics if you like John
