Catalog
5 Centavos Gobierno Provisional de Zacatecas
| Issuer | Gobierno Provisional de Zacatecas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on deep pink pasteboard, the obverse is framed by an ornate typeset border with rosette corner ornaments and lateral guilloche panels. A central circular vignette presents the Mexican eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent, enclosed within a ruled cartouche flanked by the word TRANSITORIO repeated on both sides. The denomination numeral 5 appears in each upper corner and in two small circles at the lower centre, with the curved legend GOBIERNO PROVISIONAL DE ZACATECAS arching above the vignette and CINCO CENTAVOS set in a banner at the top. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in black on deep pink pasteboard, the reverse carries a dense letterpress layout within a floral and scroll outer border. A large central eye-shaped guilloche panel bears the bold numeral 5 with the words CINCO above and CENTAVOS below; rectangular panels to the left and right each read CINCO. A curved banner across the top carries the inscription LA OFICINA REGULADORA DEL COMERCIO, while a cartouche at the foot contains the redemption pledge in two lines. |
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| Comments |
Zacatecas in 1914 was a Constitutionalist stronghold, and the silver shortage created by the revolutionary upheaval forced dozens of local authorities to issue their own fractional paper — hence this note's existence. The Gobierno Provisional operated under Pancho Villa's División del Norte after the decisive Battle of Zacatecas in June 1914, one of the bloodiest engagements of the entire Mexican Revolution.
The deep pink pasteboard construction is characteristic of emergency fractional issues from this region, where proper banknote paper was simply unavailable. Counterfeiting was less of a concern than getting anything into circulation at all.