”Blackbirds tend to like shiny things.” ~ The Bloody Raven
The Bloody coin
Now for something a little different.
I was disappointed in having been sniped on an Ebay auction out of lovely Cuba silver Peso put up by a seller addressed just over the border from me some 18-20 months ago, before auction prices got really crazy.
I had a little shopping list of crown sized coins and have checked off most until the Cuban Peso. I mentioned my disappointment about it on a Hive Comment last summer, few months later, lo and behold in my US Proxy Buyer Order as a part of another fabulous Nyssacat373 gift.
Chance? Coincidence?
Or reading my comments? 😉
Anyway, most of the fore-mentioned crown sized coins are slated for the next story arc of the Bloody Raven as a Victorian era pirate however this Peso is such a must show, just like my 1892 Victorian Crown I love the feel of a large circulated raw silver crown sized coin on my hand so no slabbed coin here.
The feel of the raised reverse and obverse impressions, and the wear smoothed reeding.
The gradient toning around the legend and contrasting the raised features of the Coat of Arms.
The distinctive resonant ring as I tap the edge of the coin. I try to imagine the many souls that have handled it in the days of in the 1930s, 40s, or 50s Cuban marketplace. Was it for a box of fine hand rolled cigars or a large bottle of Havana’s best Rum? Did it afford a sumptuous meal at a reputable restaurant, new shoes or bought the services of an evening escort in a night out on the town?
Before the 1959 mutiny by Fidel Castro Cuba did have a flourishing economy estimated to be one of the best in the Western hemisphere behind the USA and Canada. Buoyed by income from sugar and tobacco trade Cuba by US dominated companies the Cuban middle class had plenty of upward mobility and a good standard of living compared to other Latin American countries.
The Batista government had squandered what political capital they had in their handling of a widening of wealth disparity, unemployment, stagflation, regulations that cause more harm than good, and to top it off with political oppression of opposing parties, if corruption wasn’t enough.
With a Communist lead government Cuba’s standard of living fell precipitously as well as reduction of life expectancies at gunpoint. There are plenty of horror stories from former Cubans living in the US. Eventually, the soured US/ Cuba Relations cut off trade, so Cuba turned to the Soviet Union for trade and aid until the collapse of the USSR. Since then, Cuba then got needed support and aid from counties such as the Peoples Republic of China, Venezuela, and Bolivia.
In 2016 81% of Cubans had incomes less than $500/month.
The Awesome Pirate Poster
With the Silver Cuban Peso demonetized on the 13th of March in 1962 I wondered what ever happened to most of that circulating gold and silver coinage. I tried to find out but to avail.
Was it put into Cuba's financial reserve? Reserves were not Itemized.
Was it shipped to the USSR for goods, services, and Intercontinental ballistic missiles?
Was it distributed among the poor? Doubt it.
Did Fidel keep all that gold and silver himself? After all, his net worth is at least $900 Million dollars. Like Canada, Cuba has no gold reserve. Seems like Cuban socialism works for the few at the top.
It looks as if our Justin 🍁 Trudeau is too much a chip off the old block.
And another big, thank you to Captain Nyssacat373! 💋☠️
You got gold, silver, and or Crypto?
Adding another Silver in my #piratesunday style stack.
Always adding Silver and Crypto to my Stack for that financial dark and stormy night!
The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain @stokjockey for #silvergoldstackers pirates to proudly showcase their shiny booty and plunder for all to see. Landlubbers arrrh… welcomed to participate and be a Pirate at heart so open yer treasure chests an’ show us what booty yea got!
The Bloody References
The Bloody Sources
numista.com; 1920 Cuba 10 Centavos
numista.com; 1920 Cuba 20 Centavos
numista.com; 1934 Cuba 1 Peso
numista.com; 1953 Spain 1 Peseta
Vintage Pirate Ship Marleen Broach
The GOLDEN AGE of PIRATES map poster by Creator Bella Stander, Bella Terra Publishing LLC, bellaterramaps.com
Wiki: Cuba
“Et lux in tenebris to serve laboro, sum sicarius” “I work in the shadows to serve the Light, I am an Assassin.”
