High denomination Cuba notes to be circulated soon
- Published: Jan 19, 2015, 8 AM
New 200-, 500- and 1,000-pesos notes will begin to circulate in Cuba in February 2015, according to a New York Times article posted online Jan. 15, 2015.
According to the article this will be a “step forward in the government's plan to unify its dual-currency system.”
Most Cubans earn and buy goods in local pesos worth about 4 U.S. cents apiece. Tourism, one of the island's main sources of foreign exchange, operates on the convertible peso, a special currency worth roughly one U.S. dollar, according to the article.
The double currency allows Cuba to theoretically split the country between a realm of highly subsidized prices in Cuban pesos and a convertible-peso economy where prices more closely resemble those of U.S. or European cities. But the system has led to economic distortions and created a new class of privileged Cubans with access to convertible pesos.
This means that customers and businesses must increasingly handle larger quantities of cash, a problem accentuated by the fact that the country's largest bank note, the 100-peso bill, is worth about $4 U.S.
Community Comments
Headlines
-
US Coins Jan 25, 2021, 11 PM
Taking Steps in the Numismatic Journey
-
US Coins Jan 25, 2021, 4 PM
Market Analysis: Low mintage 1883-O gold $10 eagle
-
Paper Money Jan 25, 2021, 1 PM
Swiss bank’s high-value notes now in popular demand
-
US Coins Jan 25, 2021, 12 PM
Monday Morning Brief for Jan. 25, 2021: Sticker shock for some