1873 War-Time Cuban Wine Trade Note Endorsed to the Banco Español Demonstrating Cuban Commercial Paper in Banking Circulation During the Ten Years War

On offer is a completed manuscript-and-print pagaré issued in Havana on 23 August 1873, payable on 21 October 1873 to the order of Sres. Gassol, Avendaño y Cía, in the amount of "cuatrocientos veinte y un pesos con noventa y cinco centavos" [four hundred twenty-one pesos and ninety-five centavos]. 

The note is signed by Vega Hellmund y Cía, and records a commercial obligation arising from “valor del único plazo de la compra de vinos por factura que les hemos hecho y recibido á nuestra entera satisfacción” [value of the single installment for the purchase of wines per invoice which we have made and received to our complete satisfaction].

The document bears a “Giro” revenue stamp and a blue oval commercial stamp reading “VEGA HELLMUND Y Ca / HABANA.” The verso carries a formal endorsement dated Havana, 16 September 1873, reading: “Páguese á la orden del Banco Español por valor recibido del mismo en efectos” [Pay to the order of the Spanish Bank for value received from the same in goods], transferring the instrument into the hands of the Banco Español de la Habana, with a manuscript “Recibí” [Received] notation confirming acceptance.

This is a particularly clear example of merchant paper entering banking circulation, demonstrating how commercial debt was discounted and mobilized as liquid capital within Havana’s financial system during the Ten Years’ War (1868–1878).

Condition

Complete and intact across both sides. Fold lines, moderate toning, and scattered staining consistent with use. Manuscript text legible throughout. Revenue stamp and commercial markings clear. Tiny pin prick sized holes at the bottom indicating this was removed from a ledger or similar at some point in its past. Overall Good.