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Jesús Ramírez' vales al portador

Throughout its history revolutionary movements in Mexico have imposed more or less voluntary loans on leading citizens or the general populace to finance their activities. Such loans, when intended to be repaid and backed by receipts that were claimed to be negotiable, generated documents that could, at a stretch, be considered as paper currency. For the sake of completeness I will document any instances that I encounter.

Jesús Ramírez Terrón was a general who had supported Porfirio Díaz against Lerdo de Tejada but when Francisco Cañedo, rather than he himself, was made governor of Sinaloa he rose in revolt, aligning himself with the famous guerrilla bandit Heraclio Bernal.

On June 26 1880 he stormed the garrison at Mazatlán and captured the town. The city was subsequently bombed by the Mexican warship the Demócrata, which, during its attack, killed and wounded a high number of women and children. Of the 24 cannon shots fired, only three hit the army headquarters, and the rest landed on neighbouring houses.

Ramírez fled but on 22 September 1880 he was ambushed at El Salto, outside Mazatlán, and killed.

Ramírez issued vales al portador dated from 24 June to 2 July[image needed] and had enough legal standing that the Comandante Militar felt the need on 3 July to threaten the holders’ arrest as potential accomplicesPeriódico Oficial, Tomo 6, Núm. 53, 11 July 1880.