Mexican or Cuban origin? Possible attribution of the key countermarks to Cuba’s first war for independence (1868 – 1878)

by Kyle Ponterio

The island of Cuba, the largest in the Caribbean, was always considered the ‘key’ or gateway to the New World of South America and the image of a key has long been used in iconography to symbolise this fact. For example, documents in Spanish archives dating as far back to 1581 -1588 have remnants of a seal which, when reconstructed from the several pieces, show three castles and a key. This was the coat of arms of Havana, with the three castles representing the three original main castles which defended the city - namely, the Fuerza Castle, the Morro Castle and the Punta Castle, and the key symbolising access.

Cuba was Spain’s last colony in the Americas. In 1868 a revolt to gain independence was started by the planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and led to ten years of futile war. In 1879–1880, Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but did not receive enough support. Then, an exiled dissident named José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892, again with the aim of the achieving independence from Spain. Marti took up arms but was killed in battle in May 1895.

At its closest point Cuba is about 125 miles from the Mexican coast and there are references to exiles going to there as well as to the United States, where they started clubs to gain support, raise funds and recruit volunteers.

During the final War of Independence around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army, which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The insurgents had control of the eastern side of the island, whilst the royalists had control of the western side. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression, herding the rural population into "fortified towns", where between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease. Finally, after the sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana harbor Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April 1898 and at the end of the war Cuba became a protectorate of the United States and then gained formal independence on 20 May 1902.

The key is also prominent on the national coat of arms, which was formally adopted in 1906, but dates to much earlier, as demonstrated by its appearance on 1869 $1 and $5 banknotes for Céspedes’ proposed Republic of Cuba.

The countermark

The key countermark is known in two varieties, a ‘short key’ and a ‘long key’. Some commentators have suggested that there are four varieties, but the other two are just badly struck examples of the ‘short key’.

Short ‘key’ countermark on a 4 reales 1861 Zacatecas.

Long ‘key’ countermark on a 2 reales 1867 Chihuahua

KM-R3 8r ND (ca. 1872-77) (Stack’s Bowers NYINC auction, 18 January 2020, lot 21022)

countermark Variety B, long and thin key. Countermark applied twice to 8r 1873 Mo MH.

Krause attributes these counterstamps to the Cuban Revolution Fund but this was of a later date. Harpers Weekly in 1895 mentions the fund as though it had only been existence for a couple of years.

The vast majority of these countermarks tend to show up in Mexico, on Mexican coins of 25c, 50c and one pesos (2, 4 and 8 reales) but they are occasionally found on US quarter and half dollars. As far as the overall volume is concerned I have found 40 examples for all denominations. Each individual denomination is not rare, though the 8 reales are scarce, Maximilian coins are rare whilst the 25c and 50c are the most common.

KM-Unlisted 50c ND (ca. 1872-77) (Stack’s Bowers NYINC auction, 13 January 2023, lot 21374)

The countermark can appear on the obverse or reverse, with one or two strikes, without any apparent rhyme or reason.

For dates there is nothing beyond 1877.

The monetary situation

A consular report to the British government in 1872 mentions that large silver coins had disappeared since the onset of the war. It stated that the commonest coin was the US dime, whilst Spanish gold carried a premium. It made no mention of any countermark.

Tentative conclusions

Obviously much more work needs to be done but my feelings at present are:

(1) This countermark has a Cuban rather than a Mexican origin. I have discounted the suggestion that it might designate use in a particular hacienda, because hacienda tokens were produced in base metals, and for low denominations. No hacienda counterstamp is known on a silver coin.

Though most coins are found in Mexico, with only one example found in Cuba, I still believe that the reason for the counterstamp was Cuban.

(2) The countermark is coin-related though the only reference I have found so far to the financial situation at the time (the British consular report mentioned above) does not refer to a key.
Note that there is a set of three distinct denominations (with the US quarter equivalent to the Mexican 50c and the US half dollar equivalent to the Mexican peso).

(3) So these could have been used to pay insurgent troops or for transactions in the insurgent-held areas. This is more probable than they were merely a fund-raising device (such as Cespedes’ notes or the notes of the Junta Central Republicana de Cuba y Puerto Rico) as there is no added benefit to these funds by the mere addition of the countermark.