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CUBA, brass 10 centavos token, undated (late 1800s) ornate FB monogram (Francisco Bush presentation)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins By Country Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 375.00 USD
CUBA, brass 10 centavos token, undated (late 1800s) ornate FB monogram (Francisco Bush presentation)
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CUBA, brass 10 centavos token, undated (late 1800s), ornate FB monogram, possibly associated with Francisco Buch, rare.

2.82 grams. 20 mm. VF, with attractive golden-brass surfaces showing light circulation. One side features a bold 10 above CENTAVOS; the other displays an elaborate intertwined FB monogram, somewhat softly struck but clearly discernible.

Recent research suggests a possible attribution to Francisco Buch, one of Cuba’s documented manufacturers of plantation and commercial tokens during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A 20 centavos brass token bearing a closely matching FB monogram has also been identified, suggesting that this piece may belong to a related denomination series. The collector’s holder accompanying the 20 centavos example identifies Francisco Buch as a token designer.

Buch is specifically mentioned among Cuba’s leading token manufacturers in El token azucarero en Cuba, p. 21. In addition, a contemporary advertisement in Diario de la Marina, dated July 4, 1903, identifies Francisco Buch é Hijos as engravers and medal manufacturers operating at O’Reilly No. 21, Havana.

The token was previously attributed to Francisco Zayas Bazán y Varona of Ingenio Monte Grande, Caunao, based on an accompanying handwritten identification tag. The token itself bears neither the plantation’s name nor any inscription confirming that association. The related 20 centavos piece therefore raises an alternative attribution that merits consideration.

Although the FB monogram may refer to Francisco Buch, its precise significance remains unconfirmed. These pieces may have been manufacturer’s presentation specimens or samples, but that possibility also requires further investigation. An intriguing and apparently rare piece of Cuban exonumia, with its precise issuer and original purpose undetermined.