Catalog
5 Pesos El Estado de Sonora
| Issuer | Estado de Sonora (State of Sonora) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York, United States |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on a green guilloche underprint, with red serial numbers at upper left and upper right. At left, a portrait vignette of Francisco I. Madero; at right, a portrait vignette of José María Pino Suárez. A large numeral 5 occupies the centre, with smaller 5s in each corner. A grey tint bar at the bottom accommodates the signature panel, with the series letter printed in red. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green intaglio on a dense guilloche ground, the reverse centres on an oval vignette of the Mexican coat of arms — the eagle on a cactus — encircled by the legends of the Republic and the State government. Large ornate numeral 5s flank the central vignette on both sides, with additional cursive 5s in the four corners. A rectangular panel at the bottom bears the state name, and the printer's imprint appears in small type below. A red circular cancellation seal is applied at upper left. |
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| Comments |
Sonora was one of the few Mexican states with the economic and political coherence to issue its own paper currency during the Constitutional period of the Revolution. Governor José Maytorena authorized regional issues to pay troops and maintain commerce when federal Constitutionalist currency was either unavailable or distrusted locally — Sonora's notes circulated in parallel with, and sometimes in competition against, Carrancista paper.
American Bank Note Company's involvement was unusual for a revolutionary-period Mexican state issue; most emergency currency of 1913–1915 was printed domestically under rushed conditions. ABNC's engraved production gave Sonoran notes a visual credibility that helped acceptance in border trade with Arizona.