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CUBA: AR souvenir peso, 1897. AU

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:700.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
CUBA: AR souvenir peso, 1897. AU
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CUBA: AR souvenir peso, 1897, Bruce-15.2. El-1. Y-1, high relief variety with wide date and "PAT.97." on truncation, toned, mintage of only 828 pieces, AU, R. In 1897, to raise money for Cuba's struggle for independence, a New York banker came up with the idea to issue souvenir "coins." These 1897 Cuban liberation pesos bear no denomination (inscribed SOUVENIR instead of a denomination) and were sold for US$1 each. They were designed by Philip Martiny and show the Cuban coat of arms on the obverse and a personification of Liberty on the reverse. Gorham Manufacturing Co., of Providence, R.I., was contracted to produce the pieces, but could not initially, so in July 1897, Dunn Air-Brake in Philadelphia struck the first 828 pieces, using dies and planchets that Gorham had provided. In August, Gorham produced an additional 9,142 pieces. The two versions can be distinguished by the spacing of the date on the obverse, the rarer one (Dunn) having a wide date.