Up to 1977, when the Cuban government started to mint its own coins at the new Havana mint, many believed that all Cuban coins were minted in other foreign countries. For example, the 1870 Patterns were minted somewhere in South America (Argentina, Chile, or Potosi), the 1897 and 1898 Souvenir Pesos were minted in the USA, and the first Republic (1915–1960) coinage were minted in Philadelphia. After 1960, most coinage was minted in Kremnica or Stalingrad (Saint Petersburg), Russia.

Nevertheless, the first coins struck on Cuban soil were actually made in 1741, during the siege of British Admira Vernon to Santiago de Cuba. These pieces were cataloged as emergency, or necessity coins.

On various occasions, during the reign of Phillip V (Felipe Quinto), due to the scarcity of coins, the governor of Cuba, Don Francisco de Caxigal de la Vega, had requested authorization to mint copper coins, using copper from the local mines, as it was done in Santo Domingo (Hispaniola). Yet, the “Concilio de las Indias” refused the request time and time again. It can be assumed that the reason was that the Santo Domingo Mint was to supply all the Caribbean Islands, including Cuba, with copper coinage. This was not achieved totally because of mismanagement of the program by the locals. In fact, on April 6, 1758, the establishment of a mint in Cuba was forbidden by a resolution of the Council.

However, when coins became extremely scarce during the British blockade, the municipal authorities decided, by decree on August 6, 1741, to strike four copper coins. They were: cuartos, 2 reales, 4 reales, and 8 reales. On August 25th, the Governor modified the decree to be limited to cuartos and 8 maravedies, rather than the reales. On September 8, 1741, the Governor officially placed the coins in circulation. On March 1742, the Council of the Indies gave its approval, thereby giving the coins legal and official status.

The coins were made of pure copper and all were to be the same size. The design and engraving were provided by Enrique de Angle, and the dies were prepared by Antonio Nater. There are five known surviving 8 cuartos/maravedies, which are approximately 33mm in diameter, 1.5 mm thick, and 12.5 grams in weight. The obverse side of the coin has the crowned arms of Castille, with the date 17-----41 in between. The reverse side has the crowned arms of Leon, an “F” for Felipe, and a “V” for the Fifth. There is also a “C’ for Santiago de Cuba, which was the official name of the Province at that time.

These coins were not only the first minted in Cuba, but by all means, they are the rarest of all Cuban coins. In 1790, they were recalled and removed from circulation. About 12,457 maravedies and 4343 quartos were redeemed, which include a number of falsified copies.

A Word Of Caution to Collectors
Because of the crudeness of those pieces, and the fact that they were made of pure copper, it is believed that their condition was very poor when they were recalled in 1790. It is also believed that almost all the pieces were redeemed, and the very few that were not redeemed are extremely rare. The author has knowledge of only 5 of these surviving pieces. The pieces were initially minted to circulate in only one region of Cuba; Santiago de Cuba, and only a few might have been seen outside the region, if one considers the limited travel of the Cuban citizens in that time period.

The author was advised in 1977, by representatives of the Numismatic Museum in Havana, that they had been unable to locate a single one of these pieces, in spite of an extensive search across the entire island of Cuba. The author last recalls seeing one of the pieces in 1975, at the Ray Byrne sale of the Jess Peters collection.

The search for any other remaining pieces, by knowledgeable dealers and collectors, has been substantial and fruitless. As a result, the author believes that these pieces are the First Strike, and the rarest numismatic items of Cuban Numismatic history.

References: Vidal Quadras, Jose Medina, Roberto Pesant, Jess Peters Sale #78 for Ray Byrne,