Traveler's cheque, twenty Cuban pesos, Banco Nacional de Cuba

Banknote

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Traveler's cheque, twenty Cuban pesos, Banco Nacional de Cuba

Entry/Object ID

2025.11.71

Description

Rectangular intaglio- and offset-printed cheque, dark blue-green frame and lettering on a pale green ground with a salmon-pink guilloche underprint at center. Obverse. A three-part header band, reading left to right: ДОРОЖНЫЙ ЧЕК · CHEQUE DE VIAJEROS · TRAVELER'S CHEQUE, with a numeral 20 in each of the four corner panels. Beneath the header, the serial A 146171 printed twice in red, at left and right. The body is laid out in three parallel language columns — Russian at left, Spanish at center, English at right — each carrying the same fields: countersignature line, date and place of payment, date and place of issue, the conditions of use, and the denomination in words: ДВАДЦАТЬ КУБИНСКИХ ПЕСО · VEINTE PESOS CUBANOS · TWENTY CUBAN PESOS. Across the center, Banco Nacional de Cuba in a large roman face, with HABANA - CUBA beneath. Below center, the seal of the Banco Nacional de Cuba — a star with the Cuban arms device within a circular legend. At lower left, two printed bank officers' signatures beneath BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA. At right, the holder's signature line. ⚠️ The date and place of issue and of payment fields are blank — not filled in. Note this; it bears on how the instrument was actually handled. Reverse. Plain green guilloche ground with the bank's seal repeated at center and a large 20 behind it, framed by a printed border. Overstamped with at least three bank handstamps in violet ink, applied at differing angles, two of them inverted relative to the printed design: BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA / AGENCIA … with 15 and 7 ENE 1982, and CAJA beneath ⚠️ agency number partly legible, possibly 207 BANCO NACIONAL DE C… / OFICINA 860 … with 12 ENE 1982 A vertical stamp at the right edge reading … 5 JAN 1982 ⚠️ in English, not Spanish — the leading digit is unclear and may be 15 ⚠️ Cyrillic text is visible in one stamp at the right edge, running vertically; not transcribed, partly illegible

Context

This is the clearest single document of the Soviet–Cuban relationship in the collection, and it is more specific than either the 20 kopeks or the INTUR coin. ⚠️ The language order is the finding. Russian comes first, before Spanish, on an instrument issued by the Cuban national bank in Havana. That is a design decision about who this cheque was for, and it is legible without any external source. ⚠️ The cancellation stamps date its use to a ten-day window in January 1982 and show it passing through at least two Banco Nacional offices. The instrument was valid for twelve months from issue, untransferable, and payable only in Cuban territory against the holder's signature and prior identification. So: a Russian-speaking holder, in Cuba, converting twenty pesos' worth in January 1982. ⚠️ Distinguish this carefully from the INTUR cheques already noted in the collection. INTUR issued its own coins and cheques for foreign tourists between 1981 and 1989, spendable in establishments reserved for them. This is a Banco Nacional instrument denominated in ordinary Cuban pesos, not INTUR scrip — a different mechanism, and the relationship between the two systems is worth researching; it would sharpen both records. ⚠️ Who the holder was is not established. Soviet technicians, advisers, students, and official delegations were all present in Cuba in this period. The acquisition record and the signature are the only routes to an answer.

Acquisition

Accession

2025.11

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Bureau

Banco Nacional de Cuba

Time Period

1980s

Place of Origin

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

Traveler's cheque, twenty Cuban pesos, Banco Nacional de Cuba, trilingual Russian–Spanish–English, serial A 146171, cashed January 1982 ⚠️ Date of printing and of issue NOT established. The issue-date field is blank, and the cheque carries no printed date. It was necessarily printed before January 1982 and valid for twelve months from issue, so issue falls in 1981 or early 1982 — that is as far as the object takes it.

Banknote Details

Banknote Type

National Bank Note

Currency

Cuban Peso

Denomination

Issuing Authority

Banco Nacional de Cuba

Serial Number

A 146171

Obverse

Transcription

Verbatim, with translations. ⚠️ Handwritten signatures deliberately excluded. ДОРОЖНЫЙ ЧЕК — Dorozhnyy chek, traveler's cheque · CHEQUE DE VIAJEROS · TRAVELER'S CHEQUE Denomination: 20 · ДВАДЦАТЬ КУБИНСКИХ ПЕСО — twenty Cuban pesos · VEINTE PESOS CUBANOS · TWENTY CUBAN PESOS Serial: A 146171, printed twice in red Issuer: Banco Nacional de Cuba / HABANA - CUBA Field labels: FIRMA DEL TENEDOR A PRESENCIA DEL PAGADOR · РАСПИСКА ВЛАДЕЛЬЦА ПРИ ОПЛАТЕ ЧЕКА · COUNTERSIGN HERE IN PRESENCE OF CASHIER; FECHA Y LUGAR DE PAGO · ДАТА И МЕСТО ОПЛАТЫ · DATE AND PLACE OF PAYMENT; FECHA Y LUGAR DE EMISION · ДАТА И МЕСТО ВЫДАЧИ · DATE AND PLACE OF ISSUE; FIRMA DEL TENEDOR · ПОДПИСЬ ВЛАДЕЛЬЦА · SIGNATURE OF HOLDER Conditions: INTRANSFERIBLE. VALIDO POR 12 MESES A PARTIR DE LA FECHA DE EMISION. PAGADERO EN TERRITORIO CUBANO, CONTRA LA FIRMA Y PREVIA IDENTIFICACION. — Untransferable. Valid for 12 months from the date of issue. Payable in Cuban territory, against the signature and upon prior identification. · ЧЕК НЕ ПОДЛЕЖИТ ПЕРЕДАЧЕ ДРУГОМУ ЛИЦУ, ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЕН 12 МЕСЯЦЕВ СО ДНЯ ВЫДАЧИ И ОПЛАЧИВАЕТСЯ ТОЛЬКО НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ РЕСПУБЛИКИ КУБА ПРОТИВ ПОДПИСИ КЛИЕНТА И УДОСТОВЕРЕНИЯ ЕГО ЛИЧНОСТИ. — The cheque may not be transferred to another person, is valid for 12 months from the day of issue, and is payable only in the territory of the Republic of Cuba against the client's signature and verification of identity. · English equivalent as printed.

Reverse

Transcription

BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA / AGENCIA … 15 7 ENE 1982 CAJA; BANCO NACIONAL DE C… / OFICINA 860 12 ENE 1982; … 5 JAN 1982. ⚠️ Agency number, office details, and Cyrillic stamp text partly illegible. Two handwritten signatures by one hand, blue ballpoint, in Latin script: a countersignature over FIRMA DEL TENEDOR A PRESENCIA DEL PAGADOR and the holder's signature over FIRMA DEL TENEDOR. ⚠️ Neither is legible. Not transcribed. The holder's signature appears to begin with H and to run to roughly seven or eight letters ending in a rounded vowel. Two printed bank officers' signatures at lower left beneath BANCO NACIONAL DE CUBA; ⚠️ neither legible, not transcribed — the left possibly a surname beginning P or R, the right possibly beginning B with a second element beginning D.

Composition

Material

Paper

Material Notes

Security paper, printed in dark blue-green and salmon with a red serial. Handstamps in violet ink; signatures in blue ballpoint or ink. ⚠️ Watermark and security features not assessed — examine in transmitted light.

Condition

Overall Condition

Very Good

Research Notes

Notes

Researched 2026-08-07 in Spanish, English and Russian. ⚠️ The searches produced nothing on this instrument. Results were present-day Cuban tourism and currency advice, plus general material on the Banco Nacional. Everything substantive in this record above comes from the object itself.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

September 15, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

September 15, 2026