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It's made of paper!

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ColonialCoinsUK

Entry posted by ColonialCoinsUK ·

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Well here I am over at the PMG Journals with my first banknote - a 'dos caritas' 10 pesos from the Mexico Revolution 1910-1920. As my main collection evolved into Napoleonic coins you may ask 'where the *>?^ did that come from?'xD

As Napoleon conquered most of Europe my collection of French coins started to also encompass those issued in Italy, Westphalia, Holland and Spain as family members took charge of these territories. The impact of the ever changing European map was felt globally, most notably initiating the collapse of the Spanish Empire, and having started by collecting British small silver I found that I was picking up a few fractional reales from this period with most of the examples being from Spain itself, and Mexico. Due to a preference for 'real money' in the early 1800's there was a lack of 'paper money' so I jumped ahead about a hundred years or so to another turbulent period in Mexico's history - the early 1900's. Not only did I find the often classical designs of the earlier notes issued by the 'Bancos' attractive this was a period I really knew nothing about, the currency was incredibly diverse and rapidly changing across the whole region, and so it was a great opportunity for discovery and to learn something new.

I realise that this is a common note and you could probably buy the whole denomination set immediately on Ebay but these would be lower grades and/or expensive - one thing collecting coins taught me is that quality (and rarity and preferably both) counts and this top grade note was not much above the grading cost. For anyone who also reads the NGC Journals you will no doubt be aware that one of my passions in coins is the search for die varieties and even for this note there seems to be at least 23 options (not including control letters etc*) with mine# probably the easiest to find in high grade, but you have to start somewhere!

*Mexican Paper Money 2017 highlights 'the dos caritas series from Chihuahua, are collected by series, control letters and numbers which total in excess of a 1,000 notes'. This is NEVER going to happen.:roflmao:

#N series with the red scalloped seal, control letters but no date on the back S535a/M924w PMG66EPQ

 

 

 

 

 

10Pesos-combined.jpg

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Fenntucky Mike

Well you certainly pick a series with a lot of varieties, a guy could go nuts with these. Over a 1,000! :whatthe:

While I don't currently have any Mexican notes from this period the "two little faces" series is definitely one I've browsed over before in catalogs and online. It looks like a fun set of notes to collect, and a set that you could really stretch your legs out in if you wanted. 

I'm curious, did you skip purchasing the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Specialized Issues and go straight for the Mexican Paper Money catalog/encyclopedia? The SCWPM,SI only lists 3 varieties and I think this entry highlights the importance of having the proper references when collecting.

Excellent first PMG Journal entry and note. (thumbsu

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ColonialCoinsUK
On 1/28/2022 at 11:57 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Well you certainly pick a series with a lot of varieties, a guy could go nuts with these. Over a 1,000! :whatthe:

 

I'm not quite that mad, although others may disagree.xD There are so many other notes issued during the period I am after a range of designs, even one per state for the Bancos would be a challenge (I only have 5 states at the moment) with many of the notes issued during the revolution proving even more difficult. The collection will no doubt be random/shambles/eclectic and, for many issues, complete sets are nothing but a dream but at least there is no need to worry about certain numbers etc as there are so few examples available - the 'dos caritas' series and the Banco de Mexico later issues being almost the only exceptions!

I have had copies of SCWPM and the Specialised Issues for years although Mexican World Paper Money was more recent, and in colour. As my coins do drift further south I ask myself are there equivalent references for the rest of central and south amercia!?:ph34r:

 

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Fenntucky Mike
On 1/28/2022 at 2:21 PM, ColonialCoinsUK said:

I have had copies of SCWPM and the Specialised Issues for years although Mexican World Paper Money was more recent, and in colour. As my coins do drift further south I ask myself are there equivalent references for the rest of central and south amercia!?:ph34r:

That Mexican Paper Money catalog looked amazing! The full color pictures had me drooling on the computer screen, I almost picked one up but I actually managed to show some restraint this time. It's in my watchlist now though. :taptaptap:

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