Catalog
500 Pesos El Banco de Durango
| Issuer | El Banco de Durango |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Dark green and yellow intaglio-printed note with an elaborate guilloche border running the full perimeter. A central vignette presents a finely engraved street-level view of the Banco de Durango building, a two-storey neoclassical structure with arched windows and pedestrians in the foreground. Large denomination numerals "500" appear in ornate rosette panels at left and right, with "Serie A" noted beneath each, and four signature lines for Gerente, Consejero, Interventor del Gobierno, and Cajero running along the lower margin above the printer's imprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | El Banco de Durango pagará a la vista al portador en efectivo Quinientos Pesos Durango Serie A Gerente. Consejero. Interventor del Gobierno. Cajero. American BankNote Co. New York (Translation: The Bank of Durango will pay the bearer on demand in cash Five Hundred Pesos) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
El Banco de Durango operated under the 1897 banking law that granted concessions to state-chartered institutions across Mexico, allowing them to issue their own circulating notes — a fragmented system that was already under political strain before the Revolution made it untenable. By 1914, the Constitutional forces under Carranza were moving to suppress the old concession banks entirely, and notes issued in this final period circulated in an atmosphere of deep public skepticism, often at steep discounts to face value.
The American Bank Note Company plate for this series predates the crisis; the notes were ordered in better times and pressed into service well past the point of public confidence in the issuing institution.