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Catalog
Cuba 40‑centavos coin, 1962 (Camilo Cienfuegos)
Coin
Circular silver‑gray coin. Obverse (image 1): right‑facing bearded bust of Camilo Cienfuegos, with the legend "PATRIA O MUERTE" arched above and the date "1962" at left. Reverse (image 2): the Cuban national coat of arms (shield with key, rising sun, royal palm) flanked by oak and laurel branches, with the legend "REPÚBLICA DE CUBA" above and the denomination "CUARENTA CENTAVOS" below. Beaded/dentil border both sides.
2025.4.2
This mint was not abundant. People saw them as lucky charms. Donor, who arrived in the US in 1994, kept it in her New Jersey home.
This was a circulating coin, minted in 1962 for the 30th anniversary of Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán birth. It was demonetized in October 1997.
2025.4
Eida del Risco
Gift
1962 - 1997
1960s
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
Maker: State issue of the Republic of Cuba (first revolutionary coinage, 1962). No mintmark on the coin; struck at an external mint, not identified (per the 1962‑issue mint question discussed earlier). Date: 1962 (dated on the obverse). In range. Place of Origin: Cuba (national coinage).
Cuban coat of arms, country name as curved legend on top, face value in letters as curved legend on bottom.
REPUBLICA DE CUBA
Portrait of Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán, Cuban hero (1932-1959), motto "Patria o Muerte" as curved legend on top, date on left.
PATRIA O MUERTE
Fatherland or death
Reeding
Banco Nacional de Cuba
Cuban Peso
0.40
2.75 cm
Metal
Materials: Copper‑nickel; approximately 10 g; 28 mm diameter (KM# 32) — per catalog; not independently verified by assay. Technique: Machine‑struck (milled) coin.
Good
Eida del Risco
owner
Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use
West New York
New Jersey
U.S.A.
North America
preservation
Subject: Camilo Cienfuegos (Cuban revolutionary commander, 1932–1959) — the only Cuban coin to feature him; issued for the 30th anniversary of his birth.
1962 was the first year of revolutionary Cuban coinage; the coin was later demonetized owing to confusion with the similarly sized 3‑peso coin. Mint not established for the 1962 issues in sources consulted.