Translate / Traducir

Private issues (Todos Santos and El Pescadero)

Todos Santos

Todos Santos is a town 80 kilometres south of La Paz, on the Pacific coast. The town was the centre of sugarcane production until the aquifer ran out in the 1950s and several leading businessmen, including Jesús Amador, Antonio R. Cota, Merced Salgado, Rosario Salgado, and Antonio María Cota, are listed as owning plantations.

On 17 February 1915 Valente Salgado, the interim Presidente Municipal of Todos Santos, wrote to La Paz that businesses wanted to issue vales for 5c and 10c, guaranteed by funds deposited in the Tesorería. The same day Félix Ortega replied that they would soon send the vales, on the understanding that they should be backed up by a deposit in the TesoreríaABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150.

On 10 April Ortega asked the Presidentes Municipales of Todos Santos, Santiago, San José del Cabo and  El Triunfo what quantities of vales for 5c, 10, 20c and 50c each businessman neededABCS, Gobernación, vol. 648, exp. 106. Todos Santos replied that they needed $820 in total (Antonio María Cota $200, Román Salgado $100, Jesús Amador $200, Antonio R Cota $100, Valente Salgado $70, Merced Salgado $50, Balbino Pérez $50 and Ramón Wong $50)ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 648, exp. 106. It is likely that they were sent Jefatura Política vales but they were not in use for very long.

On 28 April the Presidente Municipal of Todos Santos, Enrique R. Cota, reported that  all the previous Jefatura Política vales had been collected  by businesses to exchange for bonos and that purely local vales, with the stamps of the merchant and of the ayuntamiento were being used. The quantities issued by six different businessses were as followsABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150:

José G. Villarino

José. G. Villarino was a farmer and rancher. He was a member of the town council on various occasions from 1890 onwards.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
José G. Villarino 50c     80 $40.00   
        $40.00

Antonio Maria Cota

Antonio María Cota was the second biggest landowner in Todos Santos. He was the presidente municipal in 1904-1905.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Antonio Maria Cota 5c     30 $ 1.50   
10c     30 3.00
20c     30 6.00
50c     50 25.00
        $35.50

Ramón Fuong

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Ramón Fuong 5c     40 $ 2.00   
10c     40 4.00
20c     40 8.00
50c     72 36.00
        $50.00

Julio S. Salgado 

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Julio S. Salgado  5c     100 $ 5.00   
10c     100 10.00
20c     50 10.00
50c     25 12.50
        $37.50

Jesús Amador

Jesús Amador was a farmer and rancher. He was a member of the town council on occasions from 1901 onwards.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Jesús Amador  10c     30 $ 3.00   
50c     44 22.00
        $25.00

Félix G. Rochín

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Félix G. Rochín 5c     16 $ 0.80   
10c     20 2.00
20c     10 2.00
50c     24 12.00
        $16.80

 

on 21 January 1916 the Presidente Municipal, V. Rochín, reported that Felix G. Rochín had asked him to authorize $150 in vales of 20c and 50c, with his office’s seal ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190. He was told he could allow them, as long as they were guaranteed ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Félix G. Rochín 20c
         
50c        
        $150.00

 

On 2 May La Paz sent Todos Santos $400 in vales that it had printed for various merchantsABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150. On 7 May the Presidente Municipal was told that, as some of these same merchants have already made definitive issues of fractional paper money and enough time had elapsed for it to be provided by all those who need it, the original provisional vales should be withdrawnABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150. On 14 May the Presidente Municipal, Enrique R Cota, replied that they had been distributed to the various partiesABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150. On 20 May the government printing office (Imprenta del Gobierno) sent details of the vales it had printedABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 letter F M González, Director to Secretario of Jefatura Política, 20 May 1915. They included the following six businesses.

Jesús Amador

Jesús Amador had already issued $25 in provisional vales: now he received $200 from La Paz.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Jesús Amador             
        $200.00

Antonio R. Cota

Antonio R. Cota was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1897 onwards.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Antonio R. Cota             
        $200.00

Román Salgado

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Román Salgado            
        $100.00

Valente Salgado

Valente Salgado was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1901 onwards and was the interim Presidente Municipal at this time. He  owned the El Sauz hacienda.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Valente Salgado             
        $70.00

Merced Salgado

Merced Salgado was one of the principal producers of sugar cane and panela (piloncillo) in the region. He was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1890 onwards.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Merced Salgado             
        $50.00

Balbino Pérez

Balbino Pérez was a general merchant (comerciante) and rancher, owning the Los Naranjos hacienda. He was on the town council in 1906.

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Balbino Pérez             
        $50.00

Herederos Vizcaino

The catalogues list but do not illustrate a 5c note from Herederos Vizcaino in Todos Santos[image needed]. This may have been one of the issues detailed above.

J. Ramón Wong

Ramon Wong

J. Ramón Wong arrived in 1910 from Canton, married a local girl and established La Central, the first grocery store in the town, on the corner of Centenario and Topete.

On 21 January 1916 Wong wrote to Angulo from Todos Santos that he had had printed 100 pesos in fractional currency, banco(?), and asked if he could put them into circulation. He would guarantee their value ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190. Angulo told him to ask the local Presidente Municipal to make a decision ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190. So, probably

 

 

 

 

    from to total
number
total
value
 
J. Ramón Wong            
        $100.00

 

The same day the Presidente Municipal, V. Rochín, reported that Felix G. Rochín and Enrique M. Estrada had asked him to authorize $150 in vales of 20c and 50c, with his office’s seal ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190. He was told he could allow them, as long as they were guaranteed ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190.

Enrique M. Estrada

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Enrique M. Estrada 20c
         
50c        
        $150.00

 

On 2 July when it was agreed that four casas comerciales in La Paz could make a further issue of vales the news was circulated to the Presidente Municipales of San José del Cabo, Todos Santos and El Triunfo, who were asked to find out if local businesses wanted to do the sameABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150.

El Pescadero

El Pescadero is 13 kilometres south of Todos Santos.

On 20 May the government printing office (Imprenta del Gobierno) sent details of the vales it had printedABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 letter F M González, Director to Secretario of Jefatura Política, 20 May 1915, including $500 for Rosario Salgado of El Pescadero.

Rosario Salgado

    from to total
number
total
value
 
Rosario Salgado             
        $500.00