Advertisements on Chihuahua notes - Introduction

Worthless revolutionary currency was also used to carry advertisements and other messages, especially for banks and for establishments just over the Mexican border.

These were both legitimate notes and counterfeits: in fact the latter are over-represented in these items.

The first mention seems to be in a Culiacán, Sinaloa, news item from October 1915. It reports that advertisers were buying Villista currency in bulk and that recently travellers from the United States had brought some such notes, including a $10 Central Café note^{Periódico Oficial, Sinaloa, Volume VI, No. 99, 14 October 1915}. At the beginning of December 1915 it was reported that Villa currency was rising in value because of the the heavy demand from souvenir dealers in the east. Large purchases of the currency had been made by the El Paso Chamber of Commerce for advertising purposes and one eastern dealer has bought $50,000 worth as souvenirs^{Tucson Daily Citizen, 4 December 1915}.

The first time the American Bank Note Company heard of these notes being used as souvenirs was, apparently, as late as June 1925^{ABNC, folder s/n. Banco del Estado de Chihuahua (1914-1939)}. Thereafter, on several occasions it received requests but always replied that it never printed notes except for governments or banks that had the right to issue them.

Thus, on 4 February 1932 Charles L. Cassady Co., of 1830 West 11th Street, Los Angeles, the manufacturers of Fly-Exit, asked the ABNC where he could obtain 10,000 to 100,000 notes to be used in an advertising stunt. The ABNC replied “Every now and then I have a call from some individual in this same connection [using obsolete notes for advertising] but when I pin them down they always want these obsolete bank notes for the same purpose - and that is for use in the movies.
The movie concerns have secured practically all of the Mexican obsolete bank notes and these notes are now beginning to wear out, consequently they are anxious to secure a further supply of the same; they tell me that forms prepared to represent real currency are not at all satisfactory.”^{ABNC, folder 210, Republic of Mexico (1916 (July) – 1935}.

On 25 May 1936 the Crichet Printing Company, of 349 Myrtle Ave, El Paso, wrote that it had a customer who wanted 20,000 to 30,000 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua notes, in either $10 or $20 denominations.^{ABNC, folder s/n. Banco del Estado de Chihuahua (1914-1939)}.

On 15 June 1937 Fred J Barr, Supply House, of 324-328 Brady St., Davenport, Iowa sent the ABNC a $10 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua with an imprint for “The Mountain States Equipment Co. of Denver”, and said it had a customer who wanted to buy 10,000 such notes.^ibid..

On 4 November 1939 David S. Shehady, Importer of Mexican Art Goods, of 106 San Francisco Street, El Paso, Texas, was interested in obtaining notes in all the denominations in which they were made^ibid..

On 5 January 1940, R, C. Whittinghill, the General Manager of R. C. Whittinghill & Co., 82 Duane Street, New York, asked whether it was permissible to use pesos, similar to an attached $20 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua A 055398), as an advertisement on the reverse side, and if so, where he could obtain them. This particular note had an advertisement for M. D. Springer, Importer, 220 South El Paso Street, El Paso, Texas. On 8 January W. A. Courtney, of the ABNC, called at the office of the Secret Service and saw A. E. Whitaker, Jr., who said that they had not had any previous information regarding these notes, but confiscated it, and asked for full information about their manufacture. Mr. Whitaker called Whittinghill & Co. and told them the note had been confiscated^ibid..

Sandoval News Service, of 408 East Yandell Blvd. El Paso, Texas, were wholesalers of curios and other Mexican articles. On 15 January 1940, they wrote asking where they could get hold of large quantities of obsolete Mexican banknotes at a reasonable price. The attached $1 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua note (A 011996) was confiscated by the Secret Service on 19 January^ibid..

On 12 February 1940 W. S. Blackshear, of 900 Blanco Street Austin Texas, wrote about their plans to use notes for advertising. “Hence we will ask you to kindly let us know at what price you could furnish these, (or for that matter any bills that look like money) so that we could use them. We are presuming that we would not violate any law in using them since others are doing it. We would appreciate a reply from you explaining the legal status as well as the prices at which you could supply us with imitations of such bills of exchange.” The ABNC replied that “the firm to which Blackshear referred, and which you have noticed is using bills for advertising purposes, did not obtain them from us but must have secured in some way a quantity of obsolete notes which had not been destroyed by the bank which originally ordered them.”^ibid..

On 6 September 1940 the Nelmar System, Publishers, of 2851, Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago asked about these Villa notes. They had noticed that some of the liquor concerns were using these as a clever advertising by having their ad copy printed in black ink on the back, andwished to do the same. They also wanted to rubber stamp a clever saying, like ‘with the compliments from NELMAR MAGIC STUDIOS, CHICAGO, ILL.’. They asked for a price, or if the ABNC did not have any, to be directed to the firm that had the large amount of these in reserve^{ABNC, folder 210, Republico of Mexico (1920-1940)}.