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Issued under the decree of December 10, 1913, this issue was the money in which the troops of Villa’s División del Norte were paid, and as such gained wide circulation in northern and central Mexico. Printed at the Government Printing Office in Ciudad Chihuahua, all notes are dated 12.10.13. Easily counterfeited because of their simple design, the issue of most of the denominations appears to have ended during 1914, being replaced by the new, sophisticated EL ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA notes.. The 25 centavos notes certainly continued into 1915. The 10 centavos, 10 pesos, and 20 pesos notes may have also continued into early 1915. The total issue probably exceeding 155,000,000 pesos. The over-sized larger denomination notes were nicknamed Sábanas de Villa (Villa’s bed sheets). |
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POINTS OF ATTRIBUTION:
SERIES: The Serie (Series) letter appears prominently at the upper left front of each note . Most denominations have but a few Series, but a few have many (e.g. 25 centavos and 1 peso). |
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AVAILABILITY: Notes of this issue appear for sale with some regularity, particularly the 25 centavos notes. The 10 centavos, 1 peso and 10 pesos notes also appear frequently, but the remainder can be difficult to obtain. CU notes are rare and should be closely inspected for indications of counterfeiting. The most frequently seen grades are G to F. |
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IMPRINTS: The imprint appears at the bottom center of the front of the note. There are four. |
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Imp. A - Imp. del Gobierno. |
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Imp. B - Imp. del Gobierno, Chih. |
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Imp. C - Imp. del Gobierno. – Chihuahua. |
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Imp. D - Imprenta del Gobierno. – Chihuahua. |
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SERIAL NUMBERS: |
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Various type sizes were used for the printing of Serie letters, abbreviations, and serial numbers. These sizes are frequently seen “mixed” with small type to the left and large type to the right, or vice versa. |
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Type 1. Abbreviation “NUM.” at upper right followed by single serial number. |
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Type 2. Abbreviation “NUM.” at upper right with serial numbers left and right. |
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Type 3. Abbreviation “No.“ at left, “Num.” at right with serial numbers after each. |
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Type 4. Abbreviation “No.“ at left and right with serial numbers after each. |
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Type 5. Abbreviation “No.” at upper right followed by single serial number. |
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Type 6. Abbreviation “No.” in script type face at upper left and right. |
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TREASURY SEALS: Two types of treasury seals appear on this series. Large seals measure approximately 40 mm in diameter and were most often applied by hand with a rubber stamp. Small seals measure approximately 28 mm in diameter and were most often printed. |
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OVERPRINTS: |
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FALSO:
One finds Mexican Revolution notes that are stamped with the word FALSO in black or violet ink. This marking was most often used to indicate that the note was a counterfeit. It was also used to indicate that the note was no longer authorized to pass as legal tender. Use of this stamp became widespread in 1915 as opposing forces stamped the money of their enemies to invalidate its circulation. |
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REVALIDADO Por decreto de 17 de diciembre de 1914.:
This overprinting took place during the Conventionist Government occupation of Mexico City, December 1914 to January 1915. Villa and Zapata had taken Mexico City in early December 1914. The revalidation was done in the name of the Conventionist Government of Mexico. A genuine REVALIDADO overprint always includes both the seal of the National Treasury (at right). |
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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. The Tesorería General del Estado issues of Pancho Villa are known with more validation stamps than any other issues of the Mexican Revolution.
The data collected here is certainly NOT complete. It is included to make a start in appreciating the problem of counterfeiting during the Mexican Revolution.
Paper was extremely short throughout the nation during the revolution, and in many cases, printers used whatever was at hand to print both genuine and bogus notes. So far as is presently known, for Villista issues of Chihuahua, only those of the Tesorería General del Estado were printed on watermarked paper. |
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SITE DIRECTORY
Historical Background El Banco del Estado de Chihuahua Notes (1913) Chihuahua Coinage (1914 - 1915) Bibliography
TESORERÍA GENERAL DEL ESTADO Notes (1913)
ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA Notes (1914-1915)
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