INTRODUCTION

In every country certain men stand out for their work and talent and who carry with them all the virtues and noble desires of their country.  These men, in decisive moments of their history, have known struggles for liberty facing their country.

ANTONIO MACEO AND CUBAN NUMISMATICS

Antonio Maceo y Grajales was born in the city of Santiago de Cuba on June 14, 1845. His parents were Don Marcos Maceo, a Venezuelan, and Dona Mariana Grajales, of Dominican origin.

During his youth, he could not obtain schooling other than that of combat and political experience since it was impossible for him to complete his education.  Antonio Maceo was the most outstanding leader of guerrilla units and was to remain in history as one of the best guerrilla fighters  which included dozen of combats in which his strong body bragged of 22 war scars.

He died on December 7, 1896, fighting against forces that Commandant Cirujeda was commanding in the Battle of San Pedro in Punta Brava, Havana.

MACEO AND HIS NUMISMATIC REPRESENTATION

During the war period against Spanish power in our country the first genuinely Cuban minting in 1870, 1897, and 1898 had taken place.  There was also a printing of banknotes in 1869.  By means of the Law of October 29, 1814, the Cuban monetary system was created.  The question was what constituted an apparent attribute to national sovereignty.  We state this as apparent because American money was confirmed to be expressly in force.

In 1915 the first gold, silver, and copper-nickel coins were minted.  The minting was repeated on several occasions in accordance with the circulating money and with the same designs.  Law No. 93, dated March 22, 1934, authorized the issuing of the banknotes issued by the Republic.  The figure of Antonio Maceo appeared on denominated silver certificates.  These certificates were issued in the following denominations: one, five, ten, twenty-five, fifty, one hundred, five hundred, and one thousand pesos in the years, 1934/36/38/43/44/45/47/48 and 49.

Antonio Maceo appeared for the first time in Cuban Numismatics on the twenty peso bill, Series 1934.  The Bronze Titan appeared in olive green with a coat and white shirt without a tie.  The size of these banknotes is 156 x 67mm, and they were printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Washington D.C., U.S.A. In all of the series printed only the signature of the Secretary or the Minister of State varied according to who the President of the Republic was.  On the reverse side of the banknote was the Cuban Coat of Arms.

Law No. 13 dated December 23, 1948, created the National Bank of Cuba as a credit and issuing institution; it was inaugurated on April 27, 1950.  The first banknote issue, of one five, ten, and twenty peso notes carried out in 1949.  In 1950 the first five, fifty, one hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand peso banknotes were issued.  Antonio Maceo appeared on the twenty peso series 1949 note in olive green and in the same clothes as in the previous series.  The Cuban coat of arms appeared on the reverse side, and the banknote was of the same dimensions as before.  The issue was made by the American Banknote Company, New York, U.S.A.

On March 10, 1952, Fulgencio Batista took power through a coup d' etat.  This began one of the saddest periods of our national history in which heroic combatants shed their blood in the fight for definite liberation.  During this time Antonio Maceo appeared again on the twenty-peso note in olive green with the same design and clothing as in previous issues.  This series was printed by the American Banknote Company and was signed by Joaquin Martinez Saenz and Justo Garcia Rainery serving as Minister of State.

With the triumph of the January 1, 1959 Revolution, all spheres of the country began transformation.  The monetary circulation was not at the fringes of the operating changes in the national economy.  In this same year there occurred the first issue made by the Revolutionary Government in the denominations of one and one hundred pesos.  In 1960 two issues were carried out; the first one of one, five and ten pesos; and the second one in five, ten, twenty, and one hundred pesos.

With the passing of Law 963 on August 4, 1961, the conversion of all circulating banknotes in the National territory was prepared.  The obligatory exchange of all banknotes from Series 1949 to 1960 was ordered.

The banknotes used to replace the exchanged one are those that we can call revolutionary since before the issues were made in the United States, and upon Cuba mastering the issue of the same banknotes, it cut the arms of the counter revolution.  They were characterized by showing the signature of Che, first Revolutionary President of the National Bank of Cuba.  The reverse side of these banknotes are representative of the great happenings of the Cuban revolutionary process.

Antonio Maceo appears again on the five peso note in olive green.  He wears a high button tunic with the star of a general and a tie.  On the reverse side the invasion of the Rebel Army is represented.  The measurement of this banknote is 150 x 70 cms, and it was printed by the National Printer of Securities, Prague, Czechoslovakia. Other series printed by the revolution were those of 1964/65/67/68/70 and 72.

CONCLUSIONS

We have tried to make up to the present time a summary of the presence of Maceo in Cuban numismatics that has been reflected the diverse printed issues in which he has appeared as Mambi, a symbol of bravery and patriotism of the Cubans. The representation of his figure and his great contribution in the Mambi army as it was in the invasion from East to West is only a small homage to one of the most glorious figures of our battles who knew how to become a symbol of the strength of his people.

Source:  Numiscuba, No. 11, January-April, 1989, Museo Numismatico, Banco Nacional de Cuba.