Central Republican Board of Cuba and Puerto Rico · New York
1,500 Dollars · Provisional Fundraising Receipt · 1869
Provisional fundraising receipt toward Cuban independence, lithographed in New York on 16 June 1869. No. 32 — a low document number — for one thousand five hundred dollars in United States paper currency, convertible into bonds of the Republic of Cuba.
Catalog facts
- Pick reference
- Recibo de contribución provisional
- Serial number
- N.º 32
- Signatures
- For the Treasurer (autograph signature); printed contributor: Citizen Pedro Fernandez Criado; redemption endorsement (back): Ramon Fernandez Criado on behalf of his father Pedro
- Condition
- Unslabbed; stains, folds, and edge wear (private collection)
- Printage
- Lithographed in New York by Slote & Janes, Stationers, 93 & 95 Fulton St., N.Y. Provisional fundraising receipt — not circulating currency (separate from Pick 61–64) — convertible into Republic of Cuba bonds on the first issuance. This record does not invent a printage for the type or for No. 32.
Face
Back
The note
The Central Republican Board of Cuba and Puerto Rico — political, diplomatic, and financial headquarters of the insurgency from New York, chaired by José Morales Lemus with secretary Dr. José Francisco Basora — issued provisional fundraising receipts like this one to raise funds during the Ten Years’ War and build credibility for the sovereign debt promised by the Republic of Cuba in Arms, only about eight months after the Grito de Yara (October 1868). This instrument is not ordinary currency and must not be confused with the Board’s circulating notes of 17 August 1869 (Pick 61–64): it is revolutionary debt paper issued before a sovereign Cuban state existed, convertible into bonds “of the type to be issued in the first emission.” This No. 32, dated 16 June 1869 in New York, falls in the weeks before the June arrests under U.S. neutrality laws. The printed text acknowledges receipt from Citizen Pedro Fernandez Criado of one thousand five hundred dollars in United States paper currency “to aid the cause of the independence of Cuba.” The face lithographed by Slote & Janes, Stationers (93 & 95 Fulton St., N.Y.) shows at left an allegorical Liberty or Republic beside a shield with La Estrella Solitaria — visual emblem of the republic yet to exist — red No. 32, the handwritten date 16 June 1869, and the treasurer’s signature under “For the Treasurer.” The back records fulfillment of the conversion promise: a handwritten endorsement dated 15 November 1869 in New York in which Ramon Fernandez Criado states “He recibido del Tesorero… los bonos correspondientes a este valor… por mi padre D. Pedro” — proof the Board honored its promise about five months after the contribution. It bears “REPUBLICA DE CUBA / ARCHIVO NACIONAL” stamps and registration box CAJA 196 / NUMERO 301, placing the piece in Cuban archival holdings. Browning, stains, folds, and edge wear are consistent with a nineteenth-century working document.
Scarcity and printage
The Board’s circulating notes of 17 August 1869 are catalogued as Pick 61–64 (1, 5, 10, and 20 pesos). This provisional fundraising receipt is a separate instrument: revolutionary fundraising in New York during the Ten Years’ War, not circulating currency. Numismatic sources describe limited issues; in June 1869 Morales Lemus and Basora were arrested under U.S. neutrality laws. No. 32, redeemed for bonds on 15 November 1869, shows the Board honored its conversion promise. No. 32 is a very low document number. This record does not invent a printage.
Population
An independent census for No. 32 has not been verified. The piece is shown unslabbed, with wear consistent with a nineteenth-century working document.
Sources
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Encyclopedia.com — José Morales Lemus (1808–1870)
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Central Board presidency and June 1869 arrest under U.S. neutrality laws.
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EBSCO — Cuba’s Ten Years’ War
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Revolutionary fundraising context during the Ten Years’ War.
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Columbia University — Slote & Janes, 93 Fulton Street (Yardley letterheads)
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Stationers and printers at Fulton Street, between William and Gold Streets, New York.
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Archivo Nacional de Cuba — document provenance
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REPUBLICA DE CUBA / ARCHIVO NACIONAL stamps; CAJA 196 / NUMERO 301 registration.
- Ministry of Culture — Puerto Rico in the context of Spain’s last possessions (opens in a new tab)
- Sedwick Coins — Central Republican Board of Cuba and Puerto Rico (1869) (opens in a new tab)
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Numismondo — Cuba P#61–63 (1869 circulating notes)
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Separate issues from the provisional contribution receipt documented here.
- The E-Sylum — 1869 Military Junta of Cuba Currency (opens in a new tab)
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Wikipedia — Puerto Rican peso
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The situado, 1812–1815 papeletas, the 1869 Central Republican Board, and the 1895 exchange note.
- Bank Note Museum — Puerto Rico (National Treasury, Overseas Ministry, and banks) (opens in a new tab)
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Documenta & Instrumenta — New findings on nineteenth-century fractional paper money in Puerto Rico
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Documents the 1813–1814 papeletas authorized by Salvador Meléndez Bruna.
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The E-Sylum — Puerto Rican paper money
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Summarizes the situado crisis, the 1812–1813 papeletas, and Ramírez’s amortization by 1816.
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Documenta & Instrumenta — Exchange of Mexican currency for the provincial peso (1895–1896)
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Royal decree of 17 August 1895, exchange-note counterfoils, and AHN Ultramar file 6316.
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Biography of the Riches of Puerto Rico — Coins
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Macuquinas, 1884 countermarks, and the exchange-note silver equivalent (25 g .900).