Our Puerto Rico novelty money bill commemorates the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, colonized by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1508. Spain ceded this West Indies island to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War in 1898. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship, and in 1952 the island became a commonwealth with autonomy in internal affairs. Its chief of state is the U.S. president. The question of statehood for Puerto Rico has been discussed but has not yet become a reality. The Front of the Bill pictures Juan Ponce de Leon, the founding father of Puerto Rico. The Back of the Bill pictures the Stripe-headed Tanager bird, the Puerto Rican Hibiscus flower, the Spanish Castle of El Morro (built between 1539 and 1584) and Coqui.