After the revolution
Use as advertising
These notes were used for advertising, as detailed in Advertisements on Chihuahua notes.
Use in scams
In January 1930 J. F. Wolfe and L. G. Davis (aka M. Davis), two well-known confidence men, were arrested In Texas. They had been passing $10 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua notes as United States ten dollar notes, and if refused, claimed they were genuine Mexican currency and worth five dollars. Wolfe claimed that he bought the notes in Ciudad Juárez as “flash” roll and they had about one thousand pesos on them when arrested. They were being held in jail at Columbus, Texas, on a $5,000 bond each, and were to be indicted in HoustonABNC,letter [ ]Edward Tyrell, operative to Frank Burke, U.S. Secret Service, New York, 3 February 1930.
At the end of 1939 Banco del Estado de Chihuahua notes were circulating in Montreal. On 8 March 1939 the Ottawa Journal had the following item:
“Following discovery of worthless Mexican bank bills passed in Hull over the week-end, Police Chief J. A. Robert of Hull has advised R.C.M.P. authorities of the prevalence of the bills in the district and has warned businessmen to be on the alert when accepting payment in bills of 5 and 20-dollar denomination.
The valueless bills now in possession of Hull police are of 5 and 20-peso denomination and were printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York for the State Bank of Chihuahua, Mexico. Apparently bundles of the freshly-printed notes were abstracted before their delivery to the Chihuahua bank or before they had been properly signed by bank and state officials. The notes have not been countersigned by the general manager of the bank or by the representative of the Chihuahua State Treasury. When not so countersigned, they have no value whatever.
Identification of the 20 and five-peso notes as worthless paper was made on Tuesday afternoon by a bank official who had previously been engaged in banking in Mexico. The banker pointed out blank spaces on the bills where the official signatures should have been. On learning that the notes were spurious, Chief Robert communicated with Inspector Frederick A. Syms, R.C.M.P. Police are investigating as to whether the bogus money was brought to Ottawa and district recently by men formerly of Detroit and ChicagoABNC, folder s/n. Banco del Estado de Chihuahua (1914-1939) letter Canadian Bank Note Company, Ottawa to ABNC, 14 March 1939.”
The notes were still circulating in August 1939ABNC, letter Canadian Bank Note Company, Ottawa to ABNC, 22 August 1939.