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HISTORY: It soon became apparent to Villa and to Manuel Chao, who had succeeded him as Governor of Chihuahua, that the simple design of the Tesorería General notes in circulation, was too easily counterfeited. A more elaborately designed and less easily counterfeited paper currency was needed. The result was El Estado de Chihuahua issues, which continued from February 1914 into November 1915, when the Villista government of Chihuahua was finally defeated by Venustiano Carranza’s Constitutionalists. The plates were prepared, and the first printing run made by the Maverick-Clarke Lithographic Company of San Antonio, Texas, using Woronoco Parchment paper. By the time the issue ended, at least 450,000,000 pesos had been released into circulation. All notes of this issue bear the date of the decree, 2.10.14. Later series of the issue bear various dates in 1915, as indicated in the listings. |
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AVAILABILITY: Notes of this issue are the most abundant of the villista paper money issues.. The 50 pesos note is difficult to obtain, as are some of the scarcer varieties of each denomination. The most frequently seen grades are F to CU. Notes of the issue are collectible in grade VF or higher, with some rare exceptions. A very few notes of this issue are rare. |
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The signature of Governor Manuel Chao at the bottom center, was engraved on the original plates and was not changed during the course of the issue in spite of the fact that Villa had replaced Chao as governor by the time the notes were first released. |
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Large printed signatures: Muñoz (rt)
Small printed signatures |
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Some attribution distinctions are also based on the orientation and ink color of the treasury seals, as noted in the catalog. |
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Two Treasury seals were used in various colors – the circular seal of approximately 28 mm. in diameter, and the scalloped seal of about 26 mm. diameter. |
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2. TREASURY SEALS: |
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Circular |
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Scalloped |
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1. SIGNATURES: |
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Handwritten signatures: Vargas hijo (lft) and Muñoz (rt) |
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GOTHIC |
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Thick |
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Thin |
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4. THE “ECdM” SEAL: |
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ROMAN |
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b. Control letters applied by the Carrancistas and were a sequence of single letters preceded or followed by a Roman numeral, as shown below. A table is provided for each known letter-numeral combination under the denomination concerned. |
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a. THE "ECdM" SEAL: A horizontal scalloped seal of about 26 mm. diameter with vertical control letters appears on the earliest notes of the issue. This is the seal of the Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público, Ejército Constitucionalista de México (Secretary of Treasury and Public Credit, Constitutionalist Army of Mexico). This functionary was a member of the cabinet of Venustiano Carranza, who at the time was located in Nogales, Sonora. |
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After the initial issue, the treasury began to apply control letters to the notes in addition to the treasury seal. There are a huge number of control letter combinations, and new ones are being reported. The control letters were printed in two distinctive styles of type — Gothic and Roman. The Gothic type faces appears in both “Old German” and “Modern”, while the Roman type faces appear in both “thick” and “thin” variations. Examples are shown below. |
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3. CONTROL LETTERS: |
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“Old English” |
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“Modern” |
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On May 8, 1914, the San Antonio Express newspaper reported that the Maverick-Clarke Lithographic Company had produced 500,000 50 centavos; 750,000 1 peso; 200,000 5 pesos; 150,000 10 pesos; 37,500 20 pesos; and 15,000 50 pesos notes for the State of Chihuahua. The press run totaled 5,000,000 pesos. This amount was backed by a bullion reserve of gold and silver to the amount of $3,000,000 U. S. By the end of 1914, it appears that another 2,000,000 pesos were printed and put into circulation. Carranza asked for, and received 1,000,000 pesos of the first Estado de Chihuahua issue. The notes were signed at Chihuahua and delivered to Carranza’s staff at Nogales, Sonora, where they were overprinted with the ECdM seal and control letters. How the denominations were allocated is unknown. Villa, most certainly, did not send the entire output of the first printing run to Carranza! Carranza continued to oppose the issue of currency by the State of Chihuahua, and in March 1914 released his own issue entitled Ejército Constitucionalista de México. Although these notes indicate on their face that they were printed and issued at Chihuahua City, they were actually printed and issued from Nogales, Sonora. The Ejército Constitucionalista de México notes were NOT a Villista issue and did not circulate, to any extent, in the areas controlled by General Villa. |
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The validation stamp, or resello, indicated that an organization or governmental agency had approved the stamped note to pass current within their jurisdiction. |
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In spite of the fact that El Estado de Chihuahua issues were designed to foil counterfeiters, counterfeit notes are known in every denomination. |
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RECENT DISCOVERIES. Unlisted varieties of El Estado de Chihuahua notes are continually coming to light. The latest finds are listed in the Addenda attached to each edition.. |
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SITE DIRECTORY
Introduction Historical Background El Banco del Estado de Chihuahua Notes (1913) Chihuahua Coinage (1914 - 1915) Bibliography
ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA Notes (1914-1915)
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POINTS OF ATTRIBUTION: |
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The Estado de Chihuahua notes were issued from early 1914 through most of 1915. They appeared in the series noted above in the Index of Notes. The series letter appears on the front of the note next to each of the portraits, left and right. Those series issued after the initial ones also have a date of issue below the series letter. |