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TABLE 6

50 pesos Serie F

Known Carranzista ECdM seal / letter – Roman numeral combinations

The 50 pesos notes overprints have a similar letter – number combination scheme as is seen with the 20 pesos Serie E. Some students of this issue believe that the letters were intended to spell FRANCISCO VILLA, forward and backward. This is based on a single known combination of control letters, and seem highly unlikely.

TO 50 PESOS

XIV

15,000 50 pesos notes were printed by Maverick-Clarke Litho Co. of San Antonio, Texas, in early May 1914. To date, no 50 pesos note of this run has been seen without the ECdM seal.

The notes bearing the ECdM seal and control letters are all believed to have been from this printing run. Simon Prendergast states, “The only known code is XIV – A F – XIV though obviously the sequence was intended to be:

Text Box: Without documented evidence for this scheme, I find it very hard to accept. First, such a scheme would have required the issue of 140,000 50 pesos notes, with a total value of 7,000,000 pesos, which by itself would have exceeded the issue authorized by Carranza of 6,000,000 pesos. The entire run of 50 pesos notes was only 15,000 (750,000 pesos). At the present time, no 50 pesos notes of the first run are known without the ECdM and control letters. Considering the historically documented ill-feelings between Villa and Carranza concerning the issue of currency, I also find it hard to believe that Venustiano Carranza would approve of using Francisco Villa’s name for control letters for the ECdM seal notes.

BACK TO NOTE CHARACTERISTICS

I – F

II – R

III – A

IV – N

V – C

VI – I

VII – S

VIII – C

IX – O

X – V

A – I

L – II

L – III

XI – I

XII – L

XIII – L

XIV – A

I – IV

V – V

O – VI

C – VII

S – VIII

I – IX

C – X

N – XI

A – XII

R – XIII

F – XIV