Owner Comments:
Cuba - 1938(P) Type-I Peso ABC Type - KM #22 - Mintage: 10,800,000
These coins were minted in Philadelphia for circulation in Cuba. This was the first full year of production for the new ABC Type Peso. This is quite an attractive coin and exhibits the Art Deco style which was popular at the time.
Why is it called the "ABC" Peso? I was curious, so I did some quick internet research and came across a very comprehensive article in the Cuban Numismatic Association Newsletter from October 2004 entitled "DO YOU KNOW YOUR ABC’s ???" (http://www.cubanumis.com/CNANL-03/abc.html) It appears to be a reprint of a paper entitled "The story behind the 1934-1939 Cuban One Peso Issue." by Michael S. Turrini, orginally published in April, 1986. A really good description of the coin design elements can be found on CoinTalk at http://www.cointalk.com/t18539/.
From these excellent sources I learned that the "ABC" Peso was named after a clandestine group of businessmen, and a few politicians known at the time only as the ABC group. ABC got its name from the three alphabetical cells its members belonged to; A, B, and C. The ABC was organized in December, 1931, and soon won national acclaim for its ability to intimidate Gerardo Machado y Morales and his government. When Morales was overthrown in August 1933, these individuals helped Cuba achieve stability after the chaos generated by the uprising.
Date acquired: 1/21/2016 (Already graded by NGC)
Rev. 1/22/2016