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Carranza’s authorisation

On 27 December 1913 Pastor Rouaix told Carranza’s agent, Rafael Zubarán, in Hermosillo that his government had just issued paper money guarantied with future tax receipts which it reckoned it could do in the face of the normal costs of the war. However, the unexpected withdrawal from Torreón had made his government hesitate to take on responsibility for redeeming its notes without a guarantee. Zubarán replied that Carranza suggested Rouaix issue paper money which would be redeemed with a special law once order had been restored.

On 23 January 1914 Carranza, from Culiacán, authorised Rouaix to make a new issue of $1,000,000, not only for the costs of the state’s forces but also of the Constitutionalist forces operating in the neighbourhood of the state (perhaps an attempt to reconcile Rouaix’ and Arrieta’s needs)ADUR, Fondo Secretaria General de Gobierno (Siglo XX), Sección 6 Gobierno, Serie 6.7 Correspondencia, caja 7, nombre 12. On 25 January the local newspaper reported that Carranza had authorized Rouaix to issue up to a million pesos in bonos, which the national government would honour at the triumph of the revolution. The new bonos would soon be in circulationEl Demócrata, Segunda Época, Tomo II, Núm. 55, 25 January 1914: also El Demócrata, Segunda Época, Tomo II, Núm. 56, 28 January 1914. So, in the next issue, one value had a specific guarantee whilst the others had a more general, indefinite backing. These had the customary oblong shape, were dated January 1914 and had the signatures of Rouaix as Governor, Francisco Ríos Laurenzana as Secretary of State and del Real Alfaro as Director General de Rentas.

Pastor Rouaix

Pastor Rouaix Méndez was born in Tehuacán, Puebla, on 15 April 1875. After gaining an engineering decree he was an agricultural engineer in Durango from 1898 to 1911. He joined Madero in 1910, joined the Constitutionalists in 1913 and fought with the División del Norte. He was provisional governor of Durango from 4 July 1913 to 25 August 1914 and published an agrarian law, then Carranza’s Secretaría de Industria y Comercio from 1914 to 1917 and Secretario de Agicultura from 1917 to 1920. He accompanied Carranza in his flight to Tlaxcalantongo. He continued to be a political force nationally and in his home state after the revolution.

He was the author of numerous historical and geographical books.

He died on 31 December 1949.

sig Rouaix

Francisco Ríos Laurenzana

In 1902 Francisco Ríos Laurenzana was authorised to act as a Notario Público in Torreón. He was in a law partnership with his brother-in-law Emiliano G. Saravia, working from offices at Avenida Matamoros 37½ Directorio Comercial e Industrial de la Laguna 1905-1906, Torreón, Gómez Palacio, Lerdo, San Pedro, Viesca, Matamoros.

Madero visited Durango in March 1910 and the locals formed a branch of the Partido Nacional Antireeleccionista, with Pascual Rouaix as president and Manuel del Real Alfaro, Francisco Ríos Laurenzana and Antonio Gaxiola as members of the committee.

sig Laurenzana
Manuel del Real Alfaro sig Alfaro

 

The legend on the back of the 50c notes originally stated that “Estos bonos son de circulación forzosa, a la par, en el Estado, de poder liberatorio ilimitado; devengarán un interés de seis por ciento annual, pagadero al último de sus tenedores. Están garantizados con derechos conforme al Decreto de 12 de diciembre de 1913. La persona que en cualquiera forma deprecie su valor, incurrirá en una multa de $20.00 a $200.00 según el Decreto de 15 de diciembre de 1913.” so they carried an annual interest of 6%, payable to the final holder, and were backed by taxes, but the interest clause was dropped and the taxes (derechos) specified as property taxes (derechos reales) on later series, in a shorter inscription.

The $1 and $5 notes carried the magical formula that they were authorized by the Primer Jefe of the Ejército Constitucionalista (i.e. Carranza) and would be changed at par for the coins that the Constitutionalist Government would issue.

There are two distinct types of the $5 issue. Series A  had just one signature, of Manuel del Real Alfaro, whilst the other series had three signatures, the same as the other denominations in the series. Since the December 1913 notes had just one signatures, these $5 Series A notes can be viewed as a transition piece.

pressThese seem to have been printed by Miguel Gómez as on 4 March 1914 the governor comissioned Centura Olvera to oversee the printing of bonos in the Litografía of Miguel GómezADUR, Libro Copiador 267, Hacienda 11 July 1913 - 25 April 1914, p840.

In response to a request by Pastor Rouaix, on 28 February 1914 Carranza, from his headquarters at Nogales, Sonora, made the issues that had been issued, with his approval, by the Constitutionalist governments in Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas forced circulation throughout the territory dominated by the Constitutionalist government. So this issue was legal currency in various states and is known revalidated by the Jefatura de Hacienda in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

On 13 May Pastor Rouaix reported to Carranza that he had issued more than the $1,000,000 authorised and was still printingADUR, Libro Copiador 279, Hacienda 25 April 1914 - 27 July 1914, p89. On 23 May Rouaix reported that he had issued $1,430,900 in bonos, and incurred costs of $1,643,000 so asked for permission to issue an additional $1,000,000 to the original $1,000,000ADUR, Libro Copiador 279, Hacienda 25 April 1914 - 27 July 1914, p139.

On 2 June Carranza, while in Durango, authorised Pastor Rouaix to issue a further $1,500,000, in addition to the original $1,000,000, to pay for his forcesPeriódico Oficial, Durango, Tomo XXXIX, Núm. 6, Durango, 7 June 1914. This was acknowledged by Rouaix on the same day (ADUR, Libro Copiador 279, Hacienda 25 April 1914 - 27 July 1914, p208). However, on 24 June Carranza’s decree was for $2,000,000. and on 26 July Carranza, from Saltillo, in decree núm. 27, confirmed the authorisation for up to $2,000,000 in notesPeriódico Oficial, Durango, Tomo XXXIX, Núm. 4, 26 July 1914.  Since Rouaix’s costs had risen, on 3 August he asked for permission to issue more than the $2,000,000 authorisedADUR, Libro Copiador 280, Hacienda 28 July 1914 - 15 December 1914, p76. In the statements (corte de caja) of the Dirección General de Rentas there are references to the issue of $201,440.50 (at a cost of $975.86) in JanuaryPeriódico Oficial, Durango, Tomo XXXIX, Núm. 1, 5 July 1914 and $287,400.00 (at a cost of $886.00) in FebruaryPeriódico Oficial, Durango, Tomo XXXIX, Núm. 3, 19 July 1914.

Again, interim Director General, V. M. Castaños, later produced the following analysisPeriódico Oficial, Durango, Tomo XLI, Núm. 22, 23 April 1916.

  Series Number Value
50c B 100,000 50,000
C 100,000 50,000
$1 A 91,400 91,400
B 100,000 100,000
C 100,000 100,000
D 100,000 100,000
E 90,000 90,000
F 100,000 100,000
G 100,000 100,000
H 100,000 100,000
I 100,000 100,000
J 100,000 100,000
$5 A 96,000 480,000
B 100,000 500,000
C 100,000 500,000
D 100,000 500,000
      $3,061,400

 

To summarise

  Series from to total
number
total
value
code
letter
 
50c A         OO-CC includes number 13200CNBanxico #3951
        YIDE vertical
includes numbers 28061CNBanxico #3946 and 73939
        CDIE includes number 64871CNBanxico #3952
        LDIT includes number 85668CNBanxico #3953
B         GGRN vertical
includes numbers 36261CNBanxico #3948 and 60345
        L-TD includes number 93301CNBanxico #10890
        IBR includes number 95325CNBanxico #3949
    100.000 $ 50,000    
C            
      100.000 $ 50,000    
$1    A         TGU includes number 78083CNBanxico #3958
    91,400 $ 91,400    
B         NDN includes number 0728CNBanxico #3961
        AER includes number 76014CNBanxico #3960
    100,000 $100,000    
C         POZ vertical
        REAZ includes number 13003CNBanxico #3962
    100,000 $100,000    
D         CI includes number 09473CNBanxico #3963
        ET includes number 52199CNBanxico #10891
    100,000 $100,000    
          E vertical
includes number 47761CNBanxico #3959
E         SB vertical
includes number 31198CNBanxico #3964
    90,000 $ 90,000    
F         NB includes number 29257CNBanxico #3965
        GA includes number 50105CNBanxico #10892
    100,000 $100,000    
G         MSLES vertical
        DXEN  
        XRSO includes numbers 01966CNBanxico #10893 and 37928CNBanxico #3968
        EEVL includes number 30983CNBanxico #3967
        ECDO includes number 35983
        OIAE includes number 68673CNBanxico #3966
    100,000 $100,000    
 H         OIEEE includes number 05596CNBanxico #3969 
        SHCNA includes number 08795CNBanxico #10897
        DILPU includes number 37106CNBanxico #10894
        SAADD includes number 93346CNBanxico #3970
    100,000 $100,000    
        SATO vertical
includes number 60993CNBanxico #10895
        SEE- includes number 92131CNBanxico #3971
    100,000 $100,000    
J         LTR  
        M-ED vertical
includes number 50488CNBanxico #3974
        N-RL includes numbers 55727CNBanxico #3972 and 67574CNBanxico #10896
    100,000 $100,000    
$5 A         RVDJ vertical
        EA-S-E vertical
includes number 4017CNBanxico #10899
        TEL-A-  
        FCLI includes number 39262CNBanxico #3980
        L-REL includes number 98263CNBanxico #3979
    96,000 $480.000    
B         RE  
        MAN includes number 60627CNBanxico #3978
        ECT- includes number 71511CNBanxico #3990
        O includes number 73101CNBanxico #3981
        DIR includes number 92444CNBanxico #10896
           
C         SRRE  
        STPET  
        TA-OFO vertical
includes numbers 14046CNBanxico #3988 and 74223CNBanxico #3983
   99999     MTL-E includes number 97794CNBanxico #3976
    100,000 $500,000    
D         A-AJ  
        IFLT includes number 42499CNBanxico #10898
        ESD includes number 57903CNBanxico #3995
        AIO includes number 83993CNBanxico #3977
        VRA-E includes numbers 62412CNBanxico #3989 and 96482CNBanxico #3982
        ENE includes number 74505CNBanxico #3986
        RVN includes number 89401CNBanxico #3987
    100,000 $500,000    

 

On 8 June 1915 Gaxiola told Nícolas Espinosa, the jefe político of Cuencamé, that so far no counterfeits of the Rouaix 50c, $1 or $5 had appearedADUR, Fondo Secretaría General de Gobierno, Sección Siglo XIX, Serie Correspondencia, Subserie Revolución, gaveta 6, nombre 88 and ADUR, Libro Copiador 304, Hacienda 20 May 1915 - 1 March 1916, p43.