The Central Bank of Cuba has published a historical review of the fragmented monetary system that preceded the introduction of the Cuban peso in 1915. Cuba had no mint under Spanish colonial rule, leaving coins and banknotes from Spain, the Americas and Europe circulating alongside private commercial tokens and vouchers. The U.S. dollar increasingly served as the de facto reference currency after the 1898 military occupation. Exchange values fluctuated daily, complicating wages, rents, purchases, savings and international trade while supporting an extensive network of currency exchange houses. The Economic Defense Law of Oct. 29, 1914, created a national currency, and the Cuban peso entered circulation in mid-1915. From that point, only the peso and the U.S. dollar were authorized to circulate in Cuba.
Central Bank of Cuba reviews monetary circulation before the Cuban peso’s 1915 introduction
The Central Bank of Cuba has reviewed the fragmented monetary system that existed before the Cuban peso entered circulation in mid-1915. The new currency, created under the Economic Defense Law of 1914, replaced a mix of foreign money and private instruments and became one of two authorized currencies alongside the U.S. dollar.