• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

ColonialCoinsUK

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    120

  • Joined

  • Days Won

    41

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by ColonialCoinsUK

  1. ColonialCoinsUK

    It must have been fate

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Mexico
    As I am now adding banknotes to my collection my first Journal entry over here at PMG detailed a 1915 Mexican 'dos caritas' 10 pesos from Chihuahua .
    During a recent clear-out I came across some things from ~40 years ago which was when the interest in all things numismatic started. Among the British colonial coins (all common and low grade ) I was surprised to find I had kept a reproduction of a Mexican Revolution 10 pesos banknote from Chihuahua.
    I guess that means I have been interested in the period for longer than I thought. A bit scary how things work out but I suppose that means I am on the right track and now I just need an example of the real thing!
     
  2. ColonialCoinsUK

    A pile of tatty notes

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Mexico
    Although these notes are from another Mexican state  - Durango - I am not counting them towards my State set as I do have a specimen note which will fill that slot.
    So why did I buy these well-circulated notes when 'quality' is a key element in any collection? A major goal in my coin collecting has always been the search for die varieties and it appears I have now suffered the same fate with banknotes.
    The seller's picture just highlighted a pile of tatty banknotes however the code letters were visible for a few of the notes, MA-A was known for the issue whereas UGT was not and I couldn't resist seeing what else might be lurking there.
    So having spent a few pleasant hours working out what I had the summary is:-
    Of the known control letters, MA-A, LPS, ERO-, GFA etc the first two were there however OIY (vertical), UGT, ERA-, MIR, EID, L-AR (vertical), GON and ITE (vertical) were new which can now be added to the list. Another aspect that banknotes usually have that coins don't is numbers! These pretty much covered the whole issue (proposed to be 100,000 notes) running from 3033 to 96229 extending the know range quite a bit. This set of notes also confirmed that the same code letters were used for different sets of numbers (in groups of 2000?) and as a result I think also suggests the pattern for how the codes changed.
    If anyone has any notes from Series E (or any of the others for that matter) it would be great to know what the numbers/codes are to see if they fit in with my proposed system or whether I have to go back to the drawing board!
     
  3. ColonialCoinsUK

    What's a Quetzal?

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Guatemala
    Another thing drawing me to central/south America, and beyond Mexico, is a long-standing interest in the ancient cultures of the region - the Maya, the Inca, the Aztec and the Olmec's and so on. If I won the Lottery then my travel plans would be to visit these sites, unlike friends and colleagues who seem to prefer major cities and pristine beaches.
    As a result I could not resist this half-quetzal note from Guatemala depicting the Temple of the Jaguar at Tikal on the back and Tecun Uman, one of the last rulers of the Maya, on the front. Does anyone know if the Maya glyph means something specific or is it just used as an example? Languages are not my strong point, google translate? 
    The currency is named after the Quetzal, the spectacular red and green bird seen flying across the face of the note whose long tail feathers were incorporated into the headdresses of the Aztec and Maya ruling class. As Tecun Uman's spirit guide, and a symbol of Liberty, it features on many notes and coins from post-colonial Guatemala.
    I suppose that means I have already drifted south along the coast and have also started my first 'modern' set.
     
  4. ColonialCoinsUK

    This time it is Veracruz

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Mexico
    Like coins I seem incapable of just accumulating random notes and need to 'organize' them into some form of set. The diversity of Mexican currency during this period means there is great potential for numerous sets, however one obvious set that I have been considering is one note, any note, from each of the 30 states.
    The dos caritas 10 pesos note from my first PMG Journal was issued in Chihuahua so that became State No1 - it appears I have quite a few notes from this large northern state which will no doubt start mulitple other groupings. The next note I mentioned was a 20 pesos note where the otters on the Tampico Coat of Arms seem to have morphed into dogs on the back of the note. This added Tamaulipas as State No2.

    State No3 is going to be Vercacruz, highlighted by this 5 Pesos note (S437s, M528s) issued by El Banco Mercantil de Veracruz from 1899 until 1910, another Specimen note. The 5 Pesos was the lowest, and most common denomination issued by the bank but like many of the original state banks this one didn't survive the revolution when Carranza as the new President cancelled all their charters in an attempt to centralise the banking system. This note shows a seated female figure (representing the city?) on the front with her back to the harbour surrounded by references to the local industries and commerce; mining tools, agricultural products and the train line. The back of the note depicts another view of the docks as Veracruz, like Tampico, is a major port and remains critical to the Mexican economy today although the fortress of St Juan de Ulua could do with some restoration.


    So at February 2022 the Mexican states acquired are:-
    No1: Chihuahua
    No2: Tamaulipas
    No3: Veracruz
    So 3/30 at the moment, only 27 to go, some are going to be difficult, due to both limited availability and/or that they are expensive but it is the challenge and it is striving for completion that keeps us young!
     
  5. ColonialCoinsUK

    When is a dog not a dog?

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Mexico
    My first Mexican Banco note is a specimen* Tamaulipas 20 Pesos from 1902-1914 (S431s, M522s). As I have now discovered the state of Tamaulipas is on the east coast, bordering Texas and therefore facing the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Tampico is located in the south east corner of the state and is not only a major port but the largest city, and also where the first branch of the bank was established by the Governor and a group of local business men and as such the back of all the notes in this series reflects the city Coat of Arms.
    Only it doesn't, well not quite!
    The boatman and the land are fine however the two animals in the foreground on the Coat of Arms are otters as Tampico apparently means 'place of the water dogs' in the Mayan derivative language called Huastec, not surprising given the ideal conditions for the species provided by the marshy coastline. However given the reference to 'water dogs' I guess the American Bank Note Company were not paying complete attention and engraved two 'dogs' instead of two otters. They may not be entirely to blame as I assume the Banco de Tamaulipas management also approved of the design although they may have thought the provided 'coat of arms' was enough description. My note is Series H which is the last series for this denomination and was only partly issued from 21st April 1914, due to yet another change of government, so I expect updating the design was not practical at this point as there was a war on!
    Anyone have any further insight?
    *Specimens and remainders seem to be almost the only way to get high grade examples of these earlier Mexican notes as the issued notes were widely circulated, were largely recalled and incinerated, and are therefore usually only found in low grades (Fair to Fine and very occasionally VF).
     
     
     
  6. ColonialCoinsUK

    It's made of paper!

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


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