Name/Title
Coin, 10 centavos, INTUR visitors' coinage, Cuba, 1988Entry/Object ID
2025.2.33Description
Small circular coin in a pale grey, light-looking metal, struck both faces with a raised rim.
Obverse: the INTUR logotype at center — a stylized royal palm whose trunk rises as a vertical rule through a horizontal band, the fronds splayed above; to the left of the trunk, a set of horizontal bars; to the right, INTUR in outlined sans capitals, the whole sitting on a solid horizontal base. Around the upper circumference, INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE TURISMO. At lower left, the date; at lower right, CUBA.
Reverse: the numeral 10 large across the center, with DIEZ CENTAVOS around the lower circumference. No other device — no hummingbird, no vignette, plain fields.Context
This coin is evidence of Cuba's segregated tourist economy, and it is unusually legible as such.
Between 1981 and 1989 INTUR issued visitors' coinage for use by tourists: cupro-nickel 5, 10, 25, 50 centavos and 1 peso from 1981, followed in 1988 by aluminium 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos. Foreign convertible currency was exchanged into INTUR coins and cheques rather than into the national currency, and these could buy goods unavailable for purchase in national currency. The coins circulated alongside US fractional coinage among foreign tourists, in shops and establishments reserved exclusively for them. Cuban nationals gained access to those establishments only with the decriminalization of the dollar in 1993; the coins were struck until 1994, when they were replaced by the CUC.Collection
Anna Veltfort collectionAcquisition
Accession
2025.2Source or Donor
Anna VeltfortAcquisition Method
GiftMintage
Mint
INTURDate made
1988Time Period
1980sNotes
the 1981 cupro-nickel 10 centavos carries a zunzún (bee hummingbird) on the reverse. This coin's reverse is plain.Coin Details
Obverse
Description
Obverse, circumference: INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE TURISMO — National Institute of Tourism
Obverse, in logotype: INTUR — acronym of the above
Obverse, lower left: 1988 ⚠️ worn; see Made/Created Date
Obverse, lower right: CUBAReverse
Description
Reverse, center: 10
Reverse, circumference: DIEZ CENTAVOS — ten centavosRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Anna VeltfortRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaPlace
State/Province
New YorkCountry
U.S.A.Continent
North AmericaResearch Notes
Notes
⚠️ Catalog number: sources give KM #416 and Aledón #MC11 for this type. I am reporting those attributions rather than asserting them, consistent with how the Pick number for the banknotes and the Y# for the Soviet coin were handled. Verify against a physical catalog before entry.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
August 30, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
August 30, 2026
