La Compañía de Minas la Blanca y Anexas

This company operated several mines three miles from Pachuca. Francisco Rule bought this concession in 1876 and made a major strike in 1903. On 12 November 1906 Rule sold the La Blanca mine to an American company for 12 million pesos.

On Saturday, 24 January 1914, some of the principal merchants of Pachuca called upon the mining companies and asked them to issue script to make up for the lack of change. The entire situation was discussed at length and after consultation with the governor, in a later meeting, eight companies decided to issue the same form of vale together. La Blanca subscribed for $40,000, an amount based on its requirement for four weeks^{AHMM, Fondo Norteamericano, vol. 41, exp. 15, Dirección General, Correspondencia, Mar 1913 – Nov 1914}. However, none of these are known.

First issue

So the first issue appears to have been a series of five values (5c, 10c, 25c, 50c and $1). A local historian reported that the 10c cartonitos were issued on 6 March 1915, the 5c notes on 13 March and the $1 notes on 1 June^{Teodomiro Manzano, Anales del Estado de Hidalgo: Segunda parte (1869 a marzo de 1927), Pachuca, 1927}. These issues, from Bouligny & Schmidt, are similar to issues of La Negociacion Minera Hacienda Purísima Grande y Minas, Guadalupe y Anexas and two issues, El Oro Mining & Railway Co. and The Mexican Mines of El Oro Limited, from the Estado de México.

Some of these had the printed dateline PACHUCA ..........de 1914, and later ones PACHUCA ........... de 1915.

These were signed by Alfredo F. Main as Director Gerente. Main also signed the notes of the El Oro Mining & Railway Co. as Gerente General.

Alfredo F. Main

Second issue

This was a series of cheques drawn on Guillermo Brockmann ($1, $5, $10, $20 and $50) with a stamped date of 1 April 1915.

These were signed by [               ][^{identification needed]} as Contador and [               ][^{identification needed]} as Superintendente.

They were drawn on Guillermo Brockmann. Guillermo Brockmann Ibargüengoitia (1872? – 1922) was born in Guanajuato and inherited the Hacienda de Estanzuela in Tlalpujahua. He founded the Compañía Industrial del Oro, S. A. in 1903 and was a founder shareholder in the Compañía Minera “Las Dos Estrellas”. He was the agent for Siemens machinery and a banker.

Third issue

This series was a companion to one issued by the Compañía Minera y Beneficiadora de Maravillas y San Francisco and so would have been of fives values, series G to K.

Just like the Maravillas y San Francisco issue these have the signatures of Guillermo M. Rule and Thomas P. Honey as Consejeros on the face. However, this time, the Secretario on the reverse is Othón E. Straffon.

Guillermo (William) Mayne Rule was born in April 1868, the second of the eight children of Francisco Rule and Mary Hoskings and their first son. After education in England he joined his father in managing his various businesses. He was appointed director of the Santa Gertrudis and dependent mines in July 1891The Two Republics, 22 July 1891 and was manager of the La Blanca y Anexas by June 1904The Mexican Herald, 17 June 1904. He died in Mexico City on 5 November 1916, at the early age of 48, of Bright's disease, leaving his partner, Juana Cordero, with a years-long legal dispute with the Rule family to gain an inheritance for her and their three daughters.
Thomas Phillip Honey was born on 4 March 1878, in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, the son of Ricardo Honey. Honey was on the boards of the Banco de Hidalgo and the Banco de Guerrero, as well, as of various mining companies. In addition to these notes he also signed notes issued by the Compañía Minera y Beneficiadora Maravillas y San Francisco. He died on 7 March, 1957, in Mexico City, at the age of 79.
Othón E. Straffon

In his August 1915 report on local issues to the Secretaría de Gobernación in Veracruz, Arturo Lazo de la Vega records that the “Blanca y Anexas”, “Maravillas y San Francisco”, “Real del Monte y Pachuca” and “San Diego”, had issued cheques for $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 but does not know the amounts issued^{AGN, Fondo Gobernación Periodo Revolucionario, caja 93, exp. 36, folletos 8 Secretario general L. de la Vega to [    ], Pachuca, 20 August 1915}. In response, on 9 September the Secretaría de Gobernación replied that all these issues should be withdrawn^{AGN, Fondo Gobernación Periodo Revolucionario, caja 93, exp. 36, folletos 8}.