1822 voluntary loans and donations
On 16 April 1822 the Regency authorized, through the Provincial and City Councils, a system to accept, throughout the Empire, voluntary donations and loans to help pay for the needs of the Army and other emergencies of the State. The Intendants would distribute in the Provincial and City Councils, notes (billetes ó cédulas) signed by their hand, and for various values, the smallest being for ten pesos and the largest for two hundred pesosGazeta del Gobierno Imperial de México, Tomo II, Núm. 29, 27 April 1822.
The Diputación Provincial of Guanajuato discussed the decree at its meeting of 30 April 1822. It was resolved that José María Bezanilla would be in charge of publishing the news of the Congress’ decree, and that the Intendente, Fernando Pérez Marañón, should order the issue of certificates signed by his Secretariat with a total value of $25,000, which they felt was the sum that could be raised by the Province.
These were to be in the form of 200 certificates (cédulas) for $15 ,five for $20, five for $25, 25 for $50, 12 for $100 , 12 for $200 and the rest (≈17,000) for $10Actas de las sesiones celebradas por la Diputacion Provincial, Año de 1822 y 823, session of 30 April 1822.
Bezanilla presented the manifesto[text needed] he had drawn up to the session on 10 May, and it was agreed to send a copy to each townActas, 10 May 1822. The city councils of León and Silao, in response, questioned the manner of the order but were assured that it compliedActas, 28 June 1822
By 5 July the city council of Dolores had collected and forwarded ninety-one pesos. The Diputación Provincial then agreed to issue a circular[text needed] to the other towns in the Province complaining about their failure to comply with the decree as a month had passed without them giving an account of the result of the assessment of the voluntary donation and loanActas, 5 July 1822.
As these were receipts for a donation or loan that was not, at the time, expected to be repaid, they were not negotiable and as such, not paper money. Moreover, if they were anything like the San Luis Potosí certificates, they would not have had any "security features".