Bradbury Wilkinson issue

The vignettes on the $5 notes are of Eleuteria (or Liberty) on the left and Mercury on the right.

The signatories are Diego Moreno and Justo Fernández del Valle as Presidente, Narcisco Miranda as Gerente, Salvador Velazco and C. Llaguno y del Hoyo as Cajero and Manuel Gómez Velasco as Interventor.

Presidente

Diego Moreno
Justo Fernández del Valle

Gerente

Narcisco Miranda

 Cajero

Carlos Llaguno y del Hoyo
Salvador Velazco

 Interventor

Manuel Gómez Velasco was an employee of the Tesorería General de la FederaciónLa Patria, 1 December 1898.

In the beginning the notes had trouble being accepted. The two national banks, the Banco Nacional de México and the Banco de Londres y México, refused to accept them as did the railway. It was reported that someone who wanted to buy a ticket had to stay in Guadalajara as he only had Banco de Jalisco notes^{La Voz de México, 28 December 1898: La Patria, 28 December 1898}. In his first report the manager, Narciso Miranda, denied problems^{La Voz de México, 20 January 1899} but he might have been putting on a gloss.

Use during the Revolution

The Bradbury Wilkinson notes were ordered before the Ley General of 1897 prohibited the use of notes smaller than five pesos, so the two small denomination (50c and $1) were not put into circulation. They were used a decade and a half later when Huerta first modified the Ley General and then permitted the issue of 50c notes. At first sight it seems unlikely that the bank kept a stock of notes for over a quarter of a century and the quality of the paper and the red and green underprint suggests that the American Book & Printing Company used the old Bradbury, Wilkinson plates. However, the type used for the numbers and the fact that the reverses were printed in two tones favours the first proposition.

The $1 notes are dated 20 January 1914 and were put into circulation in the following week^{The Mexican Herald, 28 January 1914}. The 50c notes are dated 1 May 1914.

Presidente

Aurelio González Hermosillo
E.

Interventor

J. Prieto Rivas

Gerente

H. W. Bartníng

Cajero