The Bill Board, a Numismatic Journey with Banknotes

Tim Baker
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We will explore a wide number of topics, all dealing with banknotes. For individual banknotes, we will explore the history around the issuance of the banknote, including the series it belongs to, the images on the obverse and reverse, and their history, social, and numismatic implications. We will review all the key numismatic information, including the security details, the composition, serial and other identification numbers, and the latest market information. The goal is to appreciate what each banknote means and represents, not just the collecting value.

  1. 3d ago

    Mexico: The Power and the Money The Mexican Financial System 1876 to 1932

    The Power and the Money The Mexican Financial System 1876 to 1932 Edited by Stephen Haber and David Brady David Brady and Mathew D. McCubbins, Party, Process, and Political Change in Congress Jeffrey Bortz and Stephen Haber, The Mexican Economy, 1870-1930 Edward Beatty, Institutions and Investment Jeremy Baskes, Indians, Merchants, and Markets

    Mexico: The Power and the Money The Mexican Financial System 1876 to 1932

  2. Aug 27

    Mexico: El Banco Mercantil de Yucatán 10 Pesos (1904) Banknote Report

    The State of Yucatan was distinct in the Mexican republic due to its immense concentrated wealth, making it one of the few regions capable of supporting multiple banks of issue simultaneously. The banking landscape was dominated by two primary, competing institutions: El Banco Yucateco and El Banco Mercantil de Yucatán. El Banco Mercantil de Yucatán was established by a coalition of traditional Yucatecan businessmen and landowners. The financial backbone of this institution was the powerful regional trading house, Eusebio Escalante é Hijo. The founding board of directors was headed by Eulogio Duarte and included prominent regional figures such as Eusebio Escalante Bates, Rafael Otero Dondé, Raimundo Cámara Luján, and Joaquín Peón. Eulogio Duarte secured the official government concession to establish the bank in the state capital of Mérida on September 18, 1889, and the institution opened its doors for business on March 4, 1890. The bank experienced rapid growth mirroring the broader henequen economy. Its original capitalization was set at $750,000 pesos. As operations expanded, this capital was officially increased to $1,000,000 on April 1, 1893, and further expanded to $1,750,000 on December 15, 1899. Following the implementation of Limantour's 1897 banking reforms, El Banco Mercantil de Yucatán successfully secured a new contract on September 18, 1897, allowing it to continue its highly profitable role as a bank of issue under the new federal guidelines.

    Mexico: El Banco Mercantil de Yucatán 10 Pesos (1904) Banknote Report

  3. Aug 26

    Mexico: A Discussion of the Banking Reform of 1908

    Resena de la Reforma Bancaria de 1908 Toribio Esquival Obregon y Joaquin de Monica Blanco

    Mexico: A Discussion of the Banking Reform of 1908

  4. Aug 21

    Mexico: José Yves Limantour and the Banking Dispute over Monetary Circulation (1897-1908) by Iliana Zárate

    Jose Yves Limantour y la Disputa Bancaria por la Circulacion Monetaria (1897-1908) Iliana Zarate José Yves Limantour: Served as Mexico's Secretary of Finance from 1893 to 1911 during the Porfiriato.Disputa Bancaria (Banking Dispute): Refers to the regulatory conflicts between the federal government and state banks over the right to issue banknotes, culminating in the 1905 monetary reform that established the gold standard in Mexico.

    Mexico: José Yves Limantour and the Banking Dispute over Monetary Circulation (1897-1908) by Iliana Zárate

  5. Aug 18

    The History of the American Banknote Company by William Griffiths

    The book has illustrations, better source, I wanted to take a listen before I dive in

    The History of the American Banknote Company by William Griffiths

  6. Aug 17

    Mexico: República Mexicana Gobierno Constitutionalista 50 Pesos "Infalsificable" Banknote (1915)

    The 50 Pesos banknote of the Gobierno Constitucionalista, authorized under the decree of July 21, 1915, emerged as a direct result of Venustiano Carranza's consolidation of power during the Mexican Revolution1. Carranza's return to Mexico City and his establishment of a unified government were made possible by a series of decisive military victories engineered by General Álvaro Obregón. In the spring and summer of 1915, Obregón's Constitutionalist forces decimated Pancho Villa's División del Norte in the Bajío region, triumphing in the massive Battles of Celaya (April 1915), the protracted Battle of León or Trinidad (where Obregón notably lost his right arm), and finally at Aguascalientes in July2. These victories effectively broke Villa's military supremacy, allowing Carranza's Constitutionalist army to march triumphantly into Mexico City in August 1915 Upon securing the capital, Carranza immediately moved to stabilize a shattered economy plagued by hyperinflation and a chaotic mix of regional fiat currencies. He declared all previously issued paper money from rival factions void and decreed the creation of a single, unified national currency—Los Infalsificables4. However, because these high-quality notes were contracted to the American Bank Note Company (ABNC) in New York, they would take time to print and deliver. Prior to their arrival, the government relied on an interim currency printed domestically at the Oficina Impresora (Government Printing Office), which included small-denomination cardboard cartones and Obligaciones Provisionales del Erario Federal (provisional treasury obligations). To underwrite the creation of the Infalsificables and theoretically guarantee their circulation, Carranza decreed the establishment of a Fondo Regulador (regulatory fund) on April 3, 19168. The following day, April 4, 1916, he published a decree creating the Comisión Monetaria (Monetary Commission) to manage this fund and orchestrate the transition6. The Comisión Monetaria was originally run by a prominent group of Carranza's allies: the Minister of Finance, Luis Cabrera; the General Treasurer of the Nation, Nicéforo Zambrano; and presidentially appointed members Alberto Pani, Ignacio Rivero, Carlos B. Zetina, and Carlos Basave. The commission's daily operations were managed by Eduardo del Raso and Francisco Puga. The first sets of activities undertaken by the Comisión Monetaria focused aggressively on arranging the monetary circulation following the chaos of the revolutionary issues. This monumental task involved exchanging and destroying obsolete currency, officially issuing (and later attempting to withdraw) the Infalsificables, and taking steps to reintroduce metallic gold and silver coins into everyday commerce. To stabilize the money supply and centralize financial power, they also helped the Ministry of Finance wind up private banks of issue, performing credit and banking activities through a newly created network of branches throughout Mexico. As part of the transition mandated by the July 21, 1915 decree, the government required the public to exchange the previously issued Constitutionalist banknotes—primarily the Ejército Constitucionalista and Gobierno Provisional de México (Veracruz) issues. These older notes were mandated to be deposited and exchanged for the newly arriving Infalsificables at a legally established rate of 10 to 1 (ten old pesos for one Infalsificable)9. Despite this highly organized monetary rollout, the Infalsificables ultimately succumbed to the same macroeconomic pressures of the era, depreciating rapidly shortly after entering active circulation.

    Mexico: República Mexicana Gobierno Constitutionalista 50 Pesos "Infalsificable" Banknote (1915)

  7. Aug 15

    Mexico: Ejército Constitucionalista de México 10 Pesos Banknote (1914)

    The issuance of the 1914 10 Pesos banknote by the Ejército Constitucionalista de México represents a critical intersection of military logistics, sovereign financial policy, and economic survival during the Mexican Revolution1. To fund a massive, multi-front armed rebellion capable of defeating the entrenched federal army, Carranza faced an insurmountable logistical challenge. Financing a war required vast amounts of capital to procure food, clothing, livestock, and most importantly, arms and ammunition from international suppliers across the United States border. Requisitioning these supplies directly from the civilian populace through force or confiscation was politically untenable, as such actions would incite severe social unrest and rapidly erode the public support required to sustain the revolution The legal framework validating the creation and forced circulation of this rebel currency was established through a sequence of specific military decrees. The initial legislative authorization occurred on April 26, 1913, when Carranza issued a decree in Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The text of this decree asserted that it was the civic duty of all Mexicans to contribute proportionally to the army's expenses until constitutional order was restored. To enforce this, the decree mandated that all inhabitants of the Republic were legally obligated to accept the Constitutionalist paper money as legal tender, at absolute face value, for all civil and commercial transactions. The decree further promised that once constitutional order was re-established, formal laws would be promulgated to guarantee the redemption of the issued notes2. As the war expanded, the initial capital injections proved insufficient. On December 28, 1913, operating from Hermosillo, Sonora, Carranza issued Decree No. 14, which authorized a second massive issuance of fifteen million pesos. This legislation was particularly notable because it explicitly prohibited the continued use of alternative local scrip (known locally as fichas, tarjetas, or vales), establishing severe punitive measures for any civilian or merchant who issued or utilized unauthorized localized currency. The specific legislation authorizing the banknote under review was Decree No. 18. Signed by Carranza on February 12, 1914, while he was stationed in Culiacán, Sinaloa, this decree expanded the money supply by an additional ten million pesos, bringing the total authorized Constitutionalist fiat currency to thirty million pesos2. The thought process behind the design and physical creation of this specific issue, which eventually became known to the public and numismatists as the "Aguilas Viejas" (Old Eagles) series, was driven by an urgent need for psychological legitimacy. The earliest emergency issues produced by the Constitutionalists (often referred to as the Monclova issue) were poorly printed on low-quality paper and were viewed with deep skepticism by a populace accustomed to the highly secure, beautifully engraved banknotes of the pre-war era2. The leadership recognized that an army could not survive on a currency that looked like a temporary voucher. They required a banknote that possessed a firm, professional appearance and utilized deeply ingrained patriotic motifs to project absolute stability, state authority, and institutional permanence

    Mexico: Ejército Constitucionalista de México 10 Pesos Banknote (1914)

  8. Aug 12

    Mexico: Comisión Reguladora del Mercado de Henequén 20 Pesos Banknote (1914)

    The 20 Pesos banknote issued by the Comisión Reguladora del Mercado de Henequén, bearing the printed date of November 20, 1914, represents a profound intersection of agricultural economics, military logistics, and regional sovereignty during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). To understand the issuance of this fiat currency, one must examine the collapse of the centralized Mexican monetary system. Following the ouster of President Porfirio Díaz and the subsequent assassination of Francisco I. Madero, the nation devolved into a fractured landscape controlled by competing military warlords. The federal banking apparatus ceased to function effectively, and hard metallic currency (gold and silver coinage) vanished from circulation due to extreme hoarding by a panicked public, a classic manifestation of Gresham’s Law. Faced with a total absence of liquidity required to pay soldiers, maintain government operations, and facilitate basic daily commerce, state governors and military commanders across Mexico were forced to issue their own regional paper money. The state of Yucatán, however, operated under a distinctly different economic paradigm than the rest of the republic. Rather than attempting to back its paper currency with promises of future silver redemption from a depleted treasury, the Yucatán government anchored the perceived value of its currency to its primary agricultural monopoly: henequén. The agave plant, whose fibers were transformed into sisal twine, was a globally strategic commodity. The mechanical grain reapers utilized across the agricultural heartlands of the United States and Europe required massive, uninterrupted supplies of binder twine, rendering the Yucatán economy exceptionally lucrative and highly autonomous The specific legislative pathway authorizing the 20 Pesos denomination was volatile and shifted rapidly with the tides of war. Historical documentation indicates that Governor Eleuterio Ávila initially expanded the printing limits of the Comisión Reguladora in late 19142. On January 11, 1915, Ávila officially authorized the specific $20 denomination via Decree núm. 57. However, the physical release and forced circulation of the Series C and Series D print runs were orchestrated by a subsequent, rebellious acting governor, Abel Ortiz Argumedo. Facing an imminent invasion by the Constitutionalist forces of General Salvador Alvarado, Argumedo required vast, immediate capital to acquire munitions from the United States On February 26, 1915, Argumedo enacted Decree núm. 3, officially placing the previously printed Series C notes into immediate circulation. The underlying thought process for the release was strictly driven by wartime extortion. Argumedo coerced the local agent for the International Harvester Company, Avelino Montes, into extending a $500,000 USD line of credit in New York to purchase arms. In exchange, Argumedo directed the state treasury to reimburse Montes with $3,550,000 in the newly authorized Series C and D paper notes. Consequently, the 20 Pesos banknote transitioned from a planned economic instrument into a desperate mechanism of military finance.

    Mexico: Comisión Reguladora del Mercado de Henequén 20 Pesos Banknote (1914)
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About

We will explore a wide number of topics, all dealing with banknotes. For individual banknotes, we will explore the history around the issuance of the banknote, including the series it belongs to, the images on the obverse and reverse, and their history, social, and numismatic implications. We will review all the key numismatic information, including the security details, the composition, serial and other identification numbers, and the latest market information. The goal is to appreciate what each banknote means and represents, not just the collecting value.

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