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Private issues (Guadalajara)

In October 1914 it was reported that some small businesses, because of the lack of small coins, had issued fichas with which to make change. As these could only be used in the same establishment, it seemed that the government would take steps to stop the practiceEl Reformador, Tomo I, Núm. 64, 15 October 1914. However, in June 1915 a newspaper could report that it had received complaints about the paper money issued by cantinas, shops and even hawkers in the market. Although people had done this to overcome the shortage of small change, the practice was illegal and the public were not obliged to accept such paper or cartonesEl Presente, 6 June 1915.

M. Ascencio Morales

Morales 10c

Salon Azteca

Salon Azteca 1

Salon Azteca 1 reverse

  series from to total
number
total
value
 
$1 A         includes number 119

 

This establishment was run by Agustín Robles.

Teodoro Campos Kunhardt y Assoc.

A 50c note[image needed].

Tienda de Antonio Bayardo

A brown cartón for 10c[image needed].

Compañía Hidroeléctrica e Irrigadora del Chapala, S. A.

During the Porfiriato and the first decades of the twentieth century, the Compañía Hidroeléctrica e Irrigadora del Chapala S. A., was a powerful company of great importance for the development of the city of Guadalajara. The company was constituted on 13 July 1909 as a joint stock company, with a capital of $14,000,000, and subscribed by prominent capitalists of Mexico City and Guadalajara, such as Manuel Cuesta Gallardo, landowner and politician from Jalisco; Enrique Tron, merchant and representative of the Banco de Londres y México; Fernando Pimentel y Fagoaga, banker and representative of the Banco Central Mexicano; Diego Moreno, landowner, owner of the haciendas of Guaracha (Michoacán), los Naranjos (Colima) and the hacienda of Buenavista (Jalisco); and the businessmen Jesús Salcido y Avilés and Hugo Scherer junior. Emilio Pinzón and Porfirio Díaz hijo were also shareholders. Cuesta Gallardo, one of the most important shareholders of this company, contributed the concessions that the Porfirista government had granted him to take advantage of waters, demarcate lands and promote irrigation and draining works at Lake Chapala, which he managed to accumulate thanks to the good relations he maintained with Porfirio Díaz. The company developed a power plant at El Salto de Juanacatlán 30 kilometres south of town.

The company increased its capital by absorbing the Nueva Compañía de Tranvías, Luz y Fuerza de Guadalajara, also known as "La Electra". This had been formed in 1905 when the local electricity company and several horsecar operators combined. Thus the company had a monopoly on these public services.

This company had a shareholders' meeting and a board of directors that met in Mexico City, where it had its official domicile. Its president and representative was Fernando Pimentel y Fagoaga, while the manager and deputy manager were the French Emilio and Eugenio Pinzón.

Chapala 1

Chapala 2

These are coupons for a single fare, without a denomination, and sold in strips of 20, numbered 1 to 20, with the facsimile signature is of Eugenio Pinzón, the sub-gerente.

Eugenio PinzonEugenio Pinzón was from the French community in Guadalajara, so when the tram company went on strike in 1914 they demanded that Pinzon be expelled from the country.

On 5 October 1917 Eugenio was part of a group of businessmen who founded the newspaper, El Informador. Emilio and Eugenio alternated the post of manager, so by December 1917 Eugenio was manager of the company as well as president of the “Círculo Francés de Guadalajara”El Informador, 20 December 1917.

sig Pinzon

 

However, DelgadoRicardo Delgado, Las Monedas Jaliscienses durante la Epoca Revolucionaria, Guadalajara, 1938 writes that at the end of 1915 the public in Guadalajara and the neighbouring towns began to use these as small change, with each coupon representing five centavos.

In December 1915 it was said that the company was considering withdrawing its bonos because of their poor state. The company was the winner because it did not exchange or make good any bono that had deterioratedBoletín Militar, Tomo III, Núm. 333, 1 December 1915.

Again in February 1916 it was reported that the company would recall its bonos which would make the lack of change even worseBoletín Militar, Tomo V, Núm. 391, 8 February 1916 but the next day the managers wrote to say that because of the effect on the public in agreement with the competent authority they would not be recalling their planillas para pasajesBoletín Militar, Tomo V, Núm. 392, 9 February 1916.

The Drogueria Alemana (German Drugstore)

Drog Alemana 1

Drog Alemana 2

The Drogueria Alemana was run by Carlos Ibarra. On 19 June 1915 he ordered the following $2,000 in cartones, modelo 5266, from Juan Kaiser for a total cost of $97.75.

Drogueria Alemana 5c

Drogueria Alemana 10c

Drogueria Alemana 10c reverse

Drogueria Alemana 20c

Drogueria Alemana 50c

Drogueria Alemana 1

  total
number
total
value
 
5c 4,000 $ 200.00 pink cartón
10c 4,000 400.00 deep blue cartón
20c 2,000 400.00 Nile green cartón 
50c 1,000 500.00 green cartón
$1 500 500.00 yellow cartón
  11,500 $2,000.00  

 

In April 1916 an American stationed in Guadalajara told the following tale, of an event that was replicated throughout Mexico.
“The German Drug Store, (probably the largest drug establishment in the city) just opposite the Consulate, on San Francisco Street, closed its doors about a week ago, on account of the following: A customer offered in payment of a purchase a bill which the proprietor refused to accept. The … customer reported the matter to the Presidente Municipal, who fined the druggist five hundred pesos for having committed the offense. When the druggist offered in payment of said fine exactly the kind of paper money which he had refused to accept from the said customer, the said Presidente Municipal did then and there decline to accept such money – which so disgusted the druggist that he at once closed his place of business! The proprietor of the German Drug Store is a Mexican and fearing to fare yet worse from the operation of the edictCarranza threatens establishments closing up or suspending operations, Querétaro, 31 March 1916, he is just now reopening his store"Will B. Davis, Experiences and Observations of an American Consular Office during the recent Mexican revolutions, 1920.

"El Fenix"

The Drogueria y Ferreteria "El Fenix” issued 10c and 20c notes dated 11 May 1915.

El Fenix 10c

El Fenix 20c

These carry the name of the owners, Ramírez y Urzúa.

At the beginning of the 20th century there was a demand for glass bottles from the tequila distilleries so the Ramírez and Urzúa brothers, merchants from the Altos de Jalisco, established the first factory in front of the jardín de Analco. Later, they liquidated their businesses and invested the proceeds in a hotel and a pharmacy. The five-storey Hotel Fénix, on avenida Ramón Corona, designed by architect Guillermo de Alba, was one of the first skyscrapers in the Mexican Republic. It opened its doors on 12 July 1912.

During WW1 the Ramírez and Urzúa company was put on the United States’ “Enemy Trading List” as being Germanophile, but the owners managed to persuade the American Embassy in Mexico City to remove them from the listEl Informador, 27 April 1918. It was still advertising as La Ferreteria “Fenix” in April 1920El Informador, 3 April 1920.

 

 

Botica Levi

Levi 20c

Levi 20c reverse

The Botica Levi produced round cartones for its main branch in 1914, to deal, as they state, with a shortage of change.

These were apparently printed by Juan Kaiser, though they are not listed by Delgado.

Hotel Francés

The Hotel Francés is the oldest lodging establishment in Guadalajara, having started in 1610 as the Mesón de San José, a short-term shelter for traders. It has gone through many incarnations through the years.

The cantina of the Hotel Francés issued a 5c note, with the name of Enrique Villa.

Hotel Frances 5c

Hotel Frances 5c reverse

La Fraternal

La Fraternal was a cantina on the corner of Avenida Colón and TequsquiteJalisco Libre, 29 September 1906.

La Fraternal 10c

La Fraternal 10c reverse

A 10c note, placed here because of the similarities in design.

La Imperial

A 5c note.

La Imperial 5c

La Imperial 5c reverse

Restaurante “Valdez”

A 10c note with the name of Francisco Valdez

Valdez 10c

Valdez 10c reverse

Cantina y Restaurant "Faust"

This restarant in the avenida Colón, owned by M. Caire, has $5 note[image needed] printed by Imprenta y Libreria Font y Velasco. The Caires were part of the French community.

Cantina “La Fuente”

La Fuente 10c

La Fuente 10c reverse

A 10c note dated May 1915 with the stamp of Tomás R. Rosales. Rosales had two outlets, in Mexico City and in Guadalajara, with the exclusive agency for tequila of Aurelio López from the fábrica of San José del Refugio, Amatitlán.

La Fuente 1

By August 1919 he had lost the agency.

La Fuente 2

This La Fuente is a different one to the current well-known cantina (with the bicycle) which was opened by Florencio López in 1921.

Cantina “La Metralla”

La Metralla 20c

La Metralla 20c reverseA cantina called “the shrapnel” probably dates from the Revolution. A 20c note with the names of Manuel Romero é hijo

Circulo Recreativo "Excelsior"

Excelsior 5c

Excelsior 10c

We know of 5c and 10c notes dated 21 and 22 August 1915.

Empresa de Kioskos

Rotter y Franco 5c

Rotter y Franco 5c reverseA 5c note with the name of Rotter y Franco

Depósito de Carbón y Lena

This was run by Salvador Martínez Frías.

Carbon 5c

Carbon 10c

Carbon 10c reverse

Date modelo Value Number
issued
Total Comment
 24 April 1915    5235   5c 250 2,000 round cartón
10c 750  
50c 1,000 round cartón: two types
          second issue: no details known

Leopoldo López Zavala

Leovala

Leovala reverse

On 19 May 1915 Leopoldo López Zavala, owner of two bars, asked the Presidente Municipal whether he could issue boletos of one and three centavos for his customers to use, attaching samples for consideration.. He was refused but told he could issue chequesAMGuad, Hacienda 1915, exp. 11.

Celso Vergara

On 22 November 1915 a José M. Silva wrote to J. E. González, the Subsecretario interino, that he had $45.50 in cheques issued by Celso Vergara. He had presented them to Vergara who refused to redeem them as the time limit had expired. Then he presented them to the Tesorería Municipal which said that they no longer had funds from Vergara. So he was asking the Governor to order the Tesorería Municipal to exchange them. González passed the message on to the Presidente Municipal who replied, on 24 December, that none of his offices had information on cheques issued by VergaraAMGuad, Hacienda 1915, exp. 145.