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Counterfeit $1 sábanas

On 4 February 1915 Governor Fidel Avila reported that in some parts of the state, particularly Guerrero, various foreigners were buying cattle, seed etc with counterfeit $1 sábanasAMP, Gobierno, Jefatura Politica y Presidencia Municipal, Libros minutarios, AL1213-000-108.

Counterfeit $1 sábanas Type 1

The notice from Parral on 6 November 1914 list the following characteristics for counterfeit $1 sábanas.

sabanas 1 M 98032

sabanas 1 M 98032 reverse

GENUINECOUNTERFEIT

 sab1count1a

sab1count1b 

Vargas’ signature is thicker
  Background colour is a light green (verde pálido)

 sab1count1e

sab1count1f 

In the phrase ‘TESORERIA GENERAL DEL ESTADO’ ‘ESTADO’ is in larger letters

 sab1count1g

 sab1count1h

'TESORERIA GENERAL DEL ESTADO / EL PRESENTE ES VALIDO, AL PORTADOR, POR' in different type, as the letters lack the same adornments
Edging composed of plates (placas) Edging is lithographed, and unbroken

 

One could add

 sab1count1l

 sab1count1m

wider spacing in CHIHUAHUA of printer's imprint

 

Known examples are of Series M, numbers 94909 to 99708. The former was revalidated in Toluca.

sabanas 1 M 94909

sabanas 1 M 94909 reverse

Counterfeit $1 sábanas Type 2

The characteristics listed in the notice of December 1914 are

GENUINECOUNTERFEIT
printed from plates lithographed
  green ink is different colour (an expert could distinguish)
the small dots that form the background are of regular size and form a symmetrical pattern the small dots vary in size and lack a symmetrical pattern
never used HAMMER BOND paper majority have HAMMER BOND watermark
sab1count2i sab1count2jin the top right background where the words ‘UN PESO’ is repeated four times the third ‘S’ is dropped out of alignment and reversed
  the inkdot before the ‘S’ of Sebastian is dropped below the line formed by the base of the signature
Chao’s signature stroke ends in a thick flourish Chao’s signature ends in a lump (nudo)

 

Incidentally, the note from which the image of an inverted 'S' was taken does not have any of the other characteristics.

sabanas 1 I 81131

Counterfeit $1 sábanas Type 3

sabanas 1 T 965874

A delightful contemporary counterfeit, but it raises multiple questions as to who its intended clientele was, the social status of the counterfeiters and how long they managed to avoid detection. The shift between ‘B’ and ‘V’ is common in Mexican orthography, and one retrograde ‘N’ could be a simple mistake but for all ‘N’s to be retrograde suggests an unfamiliarity with Spanish or any written language.

The differences in type to the genuine sábanas are obvious but one can highlight

GENUINECOUNTERFEIT
sabanas 1 P Tesoreria

count 1 Tesoreria

different font, case and punctuation

sabanas 1 P un peso 

count 1 Un Peso

retrograde ‘N’

sabanas 1 P Gobierno

GOBIERNO, above inner frame

count 1 Govierno

GOVIERNO, within inner frame

 

 









































GENUINECOUNTERFEIT
printed from plates lithographed
  green ink is different colour (an expert could distinguish)
the small dots that form the background are of regular size and form a symmetrical pattern the small dots vary in size and lack a symmetrical pattern
never used HAMMER BOND paper majority have HAMMER BOND watermark
   
  in the top right background where the words ‘UN PESO’ is repeated four times the third ‘S’ is dropped out of alignment and reversed
  the inkdot before the ‘S’ of Sebastian is dropped below the line formed by the base of the signature
Chao’s signature stroke ends in a thick flourish Chao’s signature ends in a lump (nudo)