...7 gorgeous Mexican notes.

Well, I really shot my coin/currency budget on this haul. I couldn't pass these 7 notes up though, as they are so beautiful. And what's worse, I'm looking at another specimen note, and it's going to cost me as much as these 7 did. So now, I'm thinking, do I want to cull through my coins, keep my Wild West and other signature sets, my Franklins and my Morgans, then sell the rest so I can continue my currency habit, or do I collect both???

I know why I like currency so much, it's my printing and presswork background (might as well say 19 years minus a day's worth). I have (I feel) a basic understanding of what goes (went?) into the making of these notes. The artistry and skill of the engraver's still truly amazes me (you have to remember I sometimes have a tough time drawing a straight line with a T-square and a ruler). I'm attaching an image of one of the notes to this journal article, and what impressed me so much on my first look impression was the engraving of the mounument. The detail and the way it pops out at you is totally fantastic. I've been looking at it with one of my magnifiers, and if I couldn't see the engraving lines, I'd swear it was a picture. WOW!

Well, I guess that's enough raving for now. Another thought (or wild brain idea I'm having) is to do a lot of research on these notes. The research could include: what these notes are depicting/celebrating; were the engravings stock ABN vignettes; note worth (I use the Krause catalog for reference and on a lot of the specimens, they don't really value them). Also I'm thinking I'd like to learn a ballpark figure on how many specimen notes were usually printed, who got them, just all kinds of info questions are shooting through my head right now.

So I'm also going to include a plea to any of you knowledgeable currency collectors, can any of you help? Lead me in the right direction as to where to start my research??? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated, and I will share anything I learn. Thank you all for reading and hopefully helping.