El Banco de Aguascalientes

The first bank to open a branch in Aguascalientes was that of Zacatecas, in 1897, though its notes already circulated and were accepted in the most important shops. In July 1897 the board of that bank asked the Aguascalientes Congress for certain tax exemptions for the branch that it proposed to set up in the capital and, having received them, began operation on 1 September. The Banco de Londres y México opened a branch in August 1903 and the Banco Nacional de México at the end of 1904.

Meanwhile a group of investors from San Luis Potosí, on 29 April 1902, obtained the concession to establish the Banco de Aguascalientes. The authorised capital was $600,000, divided into 6,000 shares (acciones) of $100 each, and the purchase of 50 shares was a requsite for a seat on the Board of Directors. Thus each man whose signature appears as Consejero (Board Member) on the notes was a person of some means who owned at least $5,000 in shares in the bank.

This bank opened its doors on 29 August 1902.

In addition to the main offices in Aguascalientes, there was a branch in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

In January 1909 it was announced that the Banco de Jalisco has secured control of the Banco de Aguascalientes by the purchase of 5,000 of the 6,000 shares that had been issued but apart from the closure of the bank's branch in Guadalajara no change was contemplated for the bank's management^{The Oasis, Nogales, Arizona, Second Series, Vol. XII, No. 11, 16 Jan 1909}.

The bank issued a series of notes from November 1902 to November 1910.

When Carranza ordered a review of the banks of issue the bank Augusto Brun, for the bank, argued that it was only the loans imposed by Huerta that meant the bank had breached the conditions of its concession and asked for a few months' grace to rectify the situation but on 15 December 1915 the Comisión Reguladora e Inspectora declared that the bank had forfeited its concession.

American Bank Note Company print runs

The ABNC engraved special vignette (C 252) for a portrait of Pedro José Garcia Rojas, first governor of the Federal territory of Aguascalientes (1836), to appear on the $5 and $1,000 notes  and of the church of San Marcos (C 849) to appear of all the faces.

The first printing was

 For the original print the date line "Aguascalientes _______ 19__" was engraved on the plates. This was removed before the second printing.