The crisis of 1943

In 1943, during the Second World War, Mexico was again faced with a silver crisis. A combination of reasons - anticipation of a rise in the price of silver; the Mexican government’s agreement to sell practically its entire silver production to the United States for its military industry; and a boom in the Mexican and US jewellery industries - caused the price of silver to rise and silver coins to be hoarded. On 21 August Mexico imposed a heavy export tax on silver products, to make it unprofitable to melt down silver coins to ship as bullion, and temporarily suspended a contract which promised all surplus silver production to the United States. However because of a shortage of fractional coinage, especially the fifty centavos denomination, it was compelled to authorise banks to issue cheques with printed denominations of twenty-five and fifty centavos. while it arranged for the production of new coins.

In Colima the local Cámara de Comercio issued 25c and 50c cheques drawn on the Banco Nacional de México, S. A., dated 17 September.

The known 25c note (Serie B) is signed by Carlos L. Oldenbourg, Jr. and Jorge T. Assam and the 50c notes (Serie A) by Miguel Andrade and Octavio Macchetto.

Carlos L. Oldenbourg, Jr. Carlos L Oldenbourg Hoyos was the son of Carlos L. Oldenbourg Vieitsch and Ernestina Hoyos Mendoza.
Jorge T. Assam He died in Guadalajara on 9 February 1970.
Miguel Andrade
Octavio Macchetto Strona was of Italian origin and a distingushed entrepreneur and merchant in Colima from the 1920s onwards. On 20 March 1941 he inaugurated the modern, comfortable Hotel Terraza Playa de Santiago, in Manzanillo, and later, with Ernesto Berra, opened the Bar Social, also in Manzanillo, on the ground floor of the Edificio Macchetto, opposite the Presidencia Municipal.  He died on 12 July 1962.