Counterfeit Banco de Londres, México y Sud-América notes
There were at least a couple of occasions when the bank's earliest notes were counterfeited.
$100 notes
On 12 June 1874 the director of the bank, Tomás Horncastel, sent to the police a person who had a tried to cash a counterfeit $100 note. On questioning the accused said that he has received it from “El puerto de Liverpool “ and when the police went there, they were told that the store had been the victim of a great fraud, as in good faith they had accepted several such notes, which they had kept. The matter was passed to judge Gaxiola, while in the bank a counterfeit note was shown to anyone who requested to see it, in order to prevent fraud.El Foro, 14 June 1874.
Twenty-eight other $100 notes were found by the Banco de Londres, México y Súdamerica. Two experts declared the forgery to be ‘notorious’. Nothing was resolved and the notes were finally sent to the Judicial ArchiveEl Foro, México, Tomo XXVI, Año XIV, No. 5, 9 January 1886. In 1886 one, at least, of these notes was taken from the Judicial Archive and on 16 August José María Vera was arrested for trying to make a payment with it in a casa comercial. Together with Vera, Lorenzo García and José Pablo de la Torre were accused of circulating the counterfeit note and Manuel Martínez del Campo and Francisco Montes, as employees in the Judicial Archive, were accused of complicity. Again, nothing was resolvedibid..
On 31 December 1874 Horncastel told the Ministerio de Hacienda, in explaining why he had not be able to conform with an order to present their banknotes before a particular date, stated that as some note had been counterfeited, it was necessary to proceed to make a new issue to withdraw those that in were currently circulating, and considering that the notes were printed in the United States, from where they passed to London to be signed and stamped, before being sent to Mexico, the government had agreed a six month extension until 30 June 1875, by which time all the banknotes in circulation would be withdrawn and replaced in their entirety by those of the new issueEl Foro, 3 January 1875.
In August 1875 the bank was still having problems with counterfeit $100 notes. The bank had refused to pay out on counterfeit notes and the holders had, in turn taken their case to the courtsEl Foro, 21 August 1875.
Besides the mention of these counterfeit we have a handdrawn example.
A handdrawn counterfeit of a $100 note.
$5 notes
In April 1878 it was said that counterfeit notes, mainly $5 and $100, were in circulation. The Trait d'Union offers to show people who wish to do so, a counterfeit five-peso note and the bank, for its part, was asking holders of five-peso notes to exchange them for silverEl Foro, 30 April 1878.
These must have been copies of the de la Rue issue.
a counterfeit $5 note
This $5 note, dated 1 May 1875, has the signature of Robert Geddes in addition to the printed signature of William Morrison.
Later counterfeits
Muchater, there were instances of counterfeits of the $20 Bradbury Wilkinson and counterfeits of the $20 ABNC notes.