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The State of Oaxaca, buffered from Mexico City by the Zapatista controlled states to its north, had spent most of the duration of the revolution on the side-lines. It had not allied itself with any revolutionary faction. Ruled by the property-owning elite, the state had strong conservative tendencies. The leadership felt that the revolution had nothing to offer Oaxaca. Revolutionaries operating within the state did so in remote regions, safe from state interference. When, in early 1915, Carranza attempted to gain control of the state, it led to secession. Unlike the majority of revolutionary currencies, that of Oaxaca was actually backed by the resources of its state treasury.
The 1915 notes of the State of Oaxaca were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesos. Each denomination was issued under a number of dates. There are also varieties within denominations by color. It seems that the biggest problem the state treasury faced in producing paper money was the supply of paper itself. The majority of notes issued were printed on plain, inexpensive paper, but other substitutes were used. |
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Printed on plain paper |
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Printed on ledger paper. |
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The Secessionist State of Oaxaca |
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Printed on oilcloth |
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Printed on thin paper backed with cheesecloth |
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The coinage of the State of Oaxaca shows considerably more consistency than the paper money. Even so, there are varieties of just about every denomination issued. All are dated 1915.
The early trial of rectangular copper pieces of 1 and 3 centavos, was very unpopular and was quickly replaced by traditional round coinage. The piece below is an early 3 Centavos. |
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The circular coppers of Oaxaca were struck in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 centavos. Collectible varieties exist in each denomination. |
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The silver coinage of Oaxaca was the most abundant. Limited refining capabilities led to silver coins with high gold content such as the 2 pesos – KM745 and the 5 pesos – KM751. Silver coins were issued in denominations of 50 centavos, 1, 2 and 5 pesos. As with the copper coinage, collectible varieties exist within each denomination. |
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The large two pesos pieces are almost always softly struck at the center. |
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The “gold” pieces of Oaxaca were issued in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 pesos. With silver much more abundant than gold, the so-called gold pieces are actually a silver/gold mixture with heavy gold plating. All are rare. |
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The defeat of Villa’s Division of the North in late 1915 allowed Carranza to turn his full attention to Oaxaca. By March 1916 the Carranzistas had taken the capitol city of Oaxaca de Juárez. The Oaxacan government managed to make a supplementary issue of notes from the capitol early in 1916 in denominations of 5 and 10 pesos. |
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The secessionist government fled the capital and in its death throes, issued its final series of notes on March 15, 1916 at the town of Nochixtlan. This issue consisted of notes of 1 and 5 pesos value. |
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By April 1, 1916, the government of Oaxaca was designated the Pre-Constitutional Government of Oaxaca — a Carranzista appellation for state governments during the meeting of the Constitutional Convention of 1916-1917. With the defeat of the secessionists, Carranza’s army did everything it could to locate and destroy all of the secessionist notes and coins. Even so, large numbers of examples of the Oaxacan issues have survived and are available to collectors today. Only a few notes and coins are considered rare.
Although the Oaxacan secessionists had been conquered, one maverick general remained in Oaxaca, successfully recruiting troops and issuing money. |
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General Juan Andreu Almazán claimed to be a protégé of the Madero’s. Supposed originally to have been commissioned by Madero, he had aligned himself with Zapata in 1910. He was one of the very few revolutionary generals who managed to change sides with some frequency, and yet survive the revolution. He remained in the field, fighting either the central government or rebel forces from 1910 to 1916. While recruiting in Oaxaca in April 1916, he issued the only military note attributed to the state (pictured on the next page. |
