The Museo Del Numismático was established on the initiative of Raúl León Torras (1935-1985), President of the National Bank of Cuba, as a cultural institution in 1975. Its establishment bases on the resolution No. 151 of the National Bank of Cuba.

Initially, the museum was inaugurated in the building of the Banco Gelats y Cía that was located on the Aguiar street #456, between the Lamparilla and the Amargura streets. Currently, this building houses the Banco Nacional de Cuba. In 1984, the museum moved to another building on the Oficios street #8, between the Obispo and the Obrapia streets, that served as the Episcopal Palace from 1610 to 1858, and a few years later (1844) became Monte de Piedad (today Coin Museum).

In 2000 the museum moved to its current localization on the Obispo street #305, between the Aguiar and the Habana streets, that was the headquarter of the Banco Mendoza at the beginning of the 20th century. Mendoza Company was exporting sugar and securities, as well purchasing and selling real estate. It was the first bank in the forming bank district, enclosed by the O’Reilly, the Amargura, the Compostela and the Mercaderes streets, that would realize the most important transactions in the country. 

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, banknotes, and related objects. The word numismatics takes its origin from the Greek word νόμισμα (read as nomisma), a term used to designate any small metal piece used as payment media in commercial transactions. The first coin was minted in Sardes, the capital of the ancient Lydia in Asia Minor (Anatolia), around the 7th century; consequently, this ancient city was the first that had a mint.

The Museo Del Numismático is the only museum on the world that is dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of the types of money and its substitutes. The collection of the museum includes more than 160.000 pieces from all over the world. Among the 1.500 the pieces that are exhibited in the showcases of the permanent exhibition rooms, coins and banknotes that circulated in Cuba in the first twenty years of the last century, are in the majority, but there are also medals, vouchers that were given in the sugar mills as money substitute, bond certificates, lottery tickets and counterfeits cought in the country.

The building of the museum was built in 1915. Its façade has an excellent architectural design composed of four thick columns. The museum has three exhibition rooms, a documentation center and a library. One of the rooms is dedicated to the exhibitions with the themes of numismatics. This room provides also the possibility for private collectors to exhibit their collections. Additionally, specific dates of numismatics are celebrated in this room.

The second room is dedicated to the medals (Sala Medallística). The room is arranged by historical stages, from the time of the city hall up to the revolution.

The third room is dedicated to the circulated money types (Sala de Circulación Monetaria). The collection covers about thousand coins made of gold that date back to the period between 1860 and 1928, and an almost complete chronology of Cuban tickets from the 19th century until today. These unique tickets of which today there are no more than four or five copies, are appreciable historical importance. Likewise, the 20 pesos coin that is the only one still existing of the ten produced, should be not missed. The coins and the tickets are arranged according to their historical stages, from the appearance of the currency in the seventh century up to the current currency. The visitor receives enough knowledge about the historical development of the currency in Cuba, following the coins in the showcases, such as the first coins minted by the order of the Catholic Monarchs in the American mints and the gold US coins. When the Casa de la Moneda de Cuba (Mint of Cuba) was inaugurated in 1977, three gold 100 pesos coins with the portrait of Céspedes were minted. These coins are exhibited under the headline Grandes Eventos de la Historia de Cuba (Major Events in the History of Cuba).

The museum has an exceptional collection of banknotes, including a series of 1.000 pesos signed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the first president of the Republic Army, in 1869. Céspedes always wanted that the Republic would have its own money. Therefore, the first Cuban banknotes bear his signature. In some showcases there are also banknotes issued more than a century ago by the Cuban revolutionary troops that were destined to circulate in the territory where they were operating.

The value of the exhibits is estimated to be about 50 million dollars.

The library that has a large number of catalogs, is located downstairs and was named after Raúl León Torras (1935-1985) that had a great effort in the establishment of the numismatic museum.

The institution provides specialized library services, expert appraisals, and guided visits.