The Cuban tody is an endemic bird: weighing about 6 grams and 11 cm long, it lives nowhere but Cuba and its neighbouring islets. On this coloured 1996 peso it is labelled with its popular name, CARTACUBA.

A green back, red throat, pink flanks and blue ear patches — the bird’s bright outfit is rendered in paint. Its nesting habits are unusual: the tody digs a tunnel about 30 centimetres long into a clay bank, with a chamber at the end.

The reverse was designed by Elena Delgado Álvarez and engraved by Ryneel Castellanos Cuesta; the mintage is 10,000. In the «Caribbean Fauna» series it is the most Cuban character of all: a bird that can be seen only here.

Uncirculated (UNC) condition: no signs of circulation, with mint lustre and colour preserved.

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