Counterfeit $20 Veracruz notes

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 1

This is the first falsification listed in the 25 September notice.

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	Thick and dark cotton paper
	The date says “Veracruz. Diciemere 1º. de 1915.”
	Patria has next to the cloak that hangs from the extended left arm some small horizontal lines very imperfectly done in the outer part of the cloak, while on the genuine notes the background at this place appears entirely clear and the border of the cloak perfectly outlined.
	Other horizontal lines also break the central oval containing the landscape, penetrating in an angular form Ixtaccihuatl (the left hand volcano) and the lake.
	The sky is muddy and the clouds different, the most notable item being the absence of the two small clouds that look like two white points directly under the word “Veracruz”, and the small dark cloud that should be on the edge of the oval under the date “1o.”. The line of the sky joins the wings of the eagle without leaving the small space that the genuine notes show on the edge of the wings.
	Popocatepetl (the right hand volcano) is smaller and more pointed.
	The ‘2’ of the ‘20’ in the lower left hand corner has the lower circle of the head in white.
	In the upper right hand corner the symbol enclosing the ‘20’ does not have the three clear undulations nor the perfect crossing of the curved white lines, which show up very fine and clear in the genuine notes.
	The large rosette which encircles the large ‘20’ does not show up distinctly the sixteen rays of the star beneath the number
	The ‘2’ of the same number has a blank space under the turn of the head where it entwines around the ‘$’ sign.
	The background is confused and indistinct without showing any design
	On the reverse at all four corners, under the word “PESOS” are several blank spaces between the bases of the ‘2’ and the ‘0’, and these spaces or segments are not separated equally nor perfectly regular.
	The liberty cap on the reverse side of the coin is a great deal smaller and the word “LIBERTAD” is indicated with signs that do not form well-defined letters, besides being of larger strokes.
	The red Secretaria de Hacienda seal is very rough and the undulations on the edge are unequal and imperfect, as well as the concentric circles made by white lines which are wide and clipped.

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 2

This is the second falsification listed in the 25 September notice.

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	The design is about two millimeters larger than the genuine note.
	The number ‘’2’ of ‘20’, in the upper left hand corner, has a dark shade on the thin curve towards the left side, below the word “PESOS” between the ‘P’ and the ‘E’.
	The border that encloses the title “GOBIERNO PROVISIONAL DE MEXICO” ends with curves parallel to the first letter ‘G’ and last letter ‘O’ and the outer edge of this curve at ‘G’ is not cut in the centre as it is at ‘O’
	Instead of the title preceding the signature saying “EL O. M.” it says: “EL D. M.”
	The letters of the title preceding the signature are larger.
	The background is so confused that the design cannot be made out.
	The shading of “ESTE BILLETE CIRCULARA etc.” is not made with vertical lines which form in the background of the horizontal lines a closed grid, but is simply shading made without lines, with full ink, which makes them stand out darker.
	The shading of the coin is made by imperfect diagonal lines which gives it the appearance of tin
	The borders of the obverse of the coin are very wide, especially besides the letters “REPUB”, and on the reverse the border below the “1908” can be plainly seen formed with three lines, and not with two as on the genuine notes

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 3

This is the third falsification listed in the 25 September notice.

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	The imitation of the engraving is nearly perfect
	Linen paper, but lighter.
	The design is two millimeters less than in the original note.
	The background is weakly printed so it is hardly noticed that the design is different. This is the most notable detail since, as stated, the design is nearly perfect and only an expert can tell the very imperceptible discrepancies.
	The numeration is printed in a purplish color instead of in red ink.
	On the reverse the color of the drawing is a little lighter and pink and the four symbols with the figures ‘20’ in the four corners are more widely separated from the general drawing.
	The Secretaría de Hacienda seal is very discoloured and the concentric circles are more equidistant and are thicker.

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 4

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	Blue background.
	Says “SEPTIEMERE DE 1914”

These had appeared in Durango by December 1915^{ADUR, Libro Copiador 304, Hacienda 20 May 1915 - 1 March 1916, p624 telegram F. Castaños, Secretario Interino, to Recaudador de Contribuciones}. The governor Mariano Arrieta mentioned them on 16 December in telegrams about valid issues to Daniel Nájera, Presidente Municipal of Santiago Papasquiaro^{ADUR, Libro Copiador 303, Telegramas 23 April 1915 - 10 April 1916, p405 and ADUR, Fondo Secretaria General de Gobierno (Siglo XX), Sección 6 Gobierno, Serie 6.7 Correspondencia, caja 7, nombre 67} and to the Presidente Municipal of Canatlán^{ADUR, Libro Copiador 303, Telegramas 23 April 1915 - 10 April 1916, p406 and ADUR, Fondo Secretaria General de Gobierno (Siglo XX), Sección 6 Gobierno, Serie 6.7 Correspondencia, caja 7, nombre 67}.

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 5

Number are sulfer color
Says “DECRETO DE 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE”

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 6

Numbers are carmine
Background very clear
Very thin paper
Clouds are imperfect

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 7

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	The border that encloses the title “GOBIERNO PROVISIONAL DE MEXICO” ends with curves parallel to the first letter ‘G’ and last letter ‘O’ and the outer edge of this curve at ‘G’ is not cut in the centre as it is at ‘O’
	The red Secretaria de Hacienda seal reverse has a larger point in the center that on the genuine, and there are seven, rather than eight, white concentric circles

In March 1916 a newspaper said there were three or four distinct $20 counterfeits, especially of those with reddish brown (café rojizo) backs, but did not give details. As for the $20 notes with blue backs, so far three types of counterfeits had been noticed^{Las Noticias, Edición Local de “El Demócrata” de México, León, Tomo I, Núm. 24, 8 March 1916}. These were

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 8

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	Perfectly printed, but the red stamp on the back is not engraved, and therefore it looks flattened, and must be perfectly delineated (sello rojo del reverso no es grabado, y por lo tanto se ve como achatado, debiendo ser perfectamente delineado)

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 9

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	printing is almost perfect but the red stamp on the reverse is superimposed and obtained no one knows where, but can be easily torn off with the fingernail

Counterfeit Veracruz $20 notes – Type 11

GENUINE	COUNTERFEIT
	on the reverse, the legend reads ‘SEPTEME DE 1914’ instead of ‘SEPTIEMBRE DE 1914’

Veracruz 20 D 203357

Veracruz 20 D 203357 reverse