The plates for El Estado de Chihuahua notes were prepared by the Maverick-Clarke Lithographic Company of San Antonio, Texas.  The fine engraving of the plates was believed to be “counterfeit-proof”, and to a large extent, that proved to be the case.  Only eight counterfeit varieties were described in the advisories of the day.  Reference:  Circular prepared by Inspector Oficial Alfredo H. Hernández, dated May 10, 1915.Periodico Oficial, 14 May 1915. 

COUNTERFEITS

Counterfeit notes have been discovered in almost every denomination.  Careful examination of the portraits of Madero, left, and González, right, can identify most of the counterfeit notes.

Madero (left front portrait)

COUNTERFEIT

González  (right front portrait)

GENUINE

COUNTERFEIT

Type A

NOTE: Eyes and twisted Mustache—”Cockeyed Face”

Type B

NOTE: Poor engraving—”Fat Face”

Type A

NOTE: Eyes and Nose—”Evil Face”

Type B

NOTE: Eyes, Nose and
Beard—”Dome head”

EL ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA

First Portrait

Re-engraved Portrait Higher definition

GENUINE

Denomination-specific Characteristics

1 peso.  1)  Serie A.  Serial Number 7134541.  Back: Red horizontal scalloped treasury seal with control letters and date at center.  Date: 5.1.15 / Control letters: LUP-E .  This bogus note was lithographed from a photographic plate.  The design is trimmed close on the upper left side.  Examples of this note have been seen that are perforated and stamped FALSO.

              2)  Serie A.  Serial Number 5254665.  Back: Red horizontal scalloped treasury seal with control letters and date at center.  Date: 5.23.15 / Control letters: ICK-J.  Most easily identified by Type A González portrait.

5 pesos.  1)  Serie C.  Serial Numbers  582500 and 1714801.  Back:  Black horizontal circular treasury seal with Gothic control letters: T-O.  Printed on thin paper, these curious notes have portraits that are more finely engraved than those of the genuine notes.  Type A González portrait.

               2)  Serie C. Serial Numbers  626988,  728622, 745597, 770610, and 772758.  Back: Black horizontal treasury seal and control letters: A-XIICM.  Type A González portrait.

               3)  No Serial Numbers, no signatures (not even signature of M. Chao which appears on all genuine notes even when other signatures are absent).  Type B Madero and González portraits.  Mis-oriented “arrow-heads” in guilloche at right front. (See below.)  Back:  No seal or control numbers.  Red color is much more intense than on genuine notes.

Note orientation of “arrow-heads” in right-front guilloche.

counterfeit

genuine

This counterfeit was detected by counterfeit portraits of Madero and Gonzáles on front.

Credit and images:  Elmer Powell

10 pesos.  1)  Serie D.  Remainder; no serial number; no signatures. Type A González portrait.  Reported in Simon C. Predergast’s “Dos Caritas”, pg. 39.  Said to have “thinner lettering in TESORERO GENERAL INTERINO (?), etc.”

                 2)  Serie D.  Serial Number 512802  Back: Red horizontal circular seal and control letters: F-MIIX;  L-MIVC Cataloged as CHIH-107c2.  Type A Madero portrait; Type A González portrait.

                 3)  Serie D.  Serial Number 1124949  Back: Red horizontal circular seal and control letters: M-CVVI.  Cataloged as CHIH-107c2.  Overprinted VOLVERAN PERO ESTOS NO VOLVERAN.  Type A Madero portrait, Type A Gonzalez portrait.

                 4)  Serie D.  Serial Number 540075  Back: Red horizontal scalloped seal and control letters: U-EA.  Cataloged as CHIH-107c7.  Type A Madero portrait; Type A González portrait.

                  5)  Serie D.  “Remainder”.  No serial numbers, no signatures, no treasury seal or control letters.  Type B Madero Portrait; and Type B González Portrait.

Counterfeit

Genuine

This counterfeit was detected by counterfeit portraits of Madero and Gonzáles on front; and poor quality of engraving and light printing on back.

Credit and images:  Bill Rapanotti and W. Crutchfield Williams II

Differences in shading lines are most easily detectable.

Differences in quality of engraving are readily apparent.

Counterfeit

Genuine

10 pesos (Continued)  6)  Serie J.  Serial Number  242   Back: Red horizontal scalloped treasury seal and control letters: O-LDC.

               7)  Serie J.  Serial Number  232572  Back: Red horizontal scalloped treasury seal and control letters: T-CNL.

               8)  Serie M.  Serial Number  26122  Front:  Black on Yellow unpt.  Back:  Black on Olive unpt.  Red horizontal scalloped treasury seal and control letters: NSHM (NO hyphen in control letters).  Similar to example number 20, below. Serie M was used only for the 5 pesos notes issued in June 1915.  This is an extremely poor attempt at a modern counterfeit.

20 pesos  1)  Serie E.  An apparently genuine note with control letters N=R=S, in modern gothic, on which FALSC (sic) is printed, both front and back.  No 20 pesos of this series has been previously reported as stamped FALSO.  Modern Fantasy note.

               2)  Serie K.  Serial Number  124237  Back: Red horizontal circular treasury seal and Gothic control letters: P-VLM.  The contrast between the center of the note and the border guiloches is missing.  Sharp details are lacking in words and figures “VEINTE PESOS, 20, XX” and in guilloches in panels at left and right.  There is a marked difference in the eyes of the portraits when compared to genuine notes.

               3)  Serie M.  (Used on genuine notes for Serie M 5 pesos, June 1915 ONLY.)  A complete set of all denominations, 1 peso through 50 pesos, has appeared as MODERN COUNTERFEITS.  They are incredibly crude and atrocious, with the background “webbing” apparently prepared by a sight-impaired plate cutter.  No one should be fooled by these abominations.                                                                       Scans courtesy of Gene Reid and Elmer Powell.

INDEX OF NOTES

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