From 3 to 9 September 1979 Havana hosted the 6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, and Cuba marked it with a commemorative peso of just 3,000 pieces. The summit was chaired by Fidel Castro.

The reverse by Jorge Fornés Ramos is built around the summit emblem: a figure 6 formed by two crescents and a circle. Around it run «LA HABANA», «CUMBRE», «NO ALINEADOS» and the year. The obverse bears the Cuban arms with the legend «REPUBLICA DE CUBA» and the denomination.

The Havana summit is remembered for sharp disputes. Castro urged the movement to see the socialist bloc as its «natural ally»; Yugoslavia objected, and Josip Broz Tito reminded delegates that the movement could be neither a conveyor belt nor the reserve of any bloc. Issued by the host country, the coin is a tangible trace of this Cold War chapter.

It is one of the early commemoratives of the Havana mint, which started striking in 1977; the die templates were still being made in Spain at the time. The coin fits a thematic set on international organisations and a date run of socialist Cuba’s commemorative pesos.

Uncirculated (UNC) means the coin never saw circulation: the emblem relief and small lettering are free of wear, and the mint lustre remains.

For those who collect coins by subject, whether wildlife, architecture, famous people or sport, the VPcoins catalogue offers other themed issues too.