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| Mexico banknotes 500 Pesos bank note |
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| 500 Peso Mexico Banknote |
Mexican banknotes, Mexican paper money, Mexican bank notes, Mexico banknotes, Mexico paper money, Mexico bank notes collection of currency notes and bills, Billetes Mexicanos.
Obverse: Portrait of Benito Juarez, Mexican Statesman and First Indian President of Mexico at right and Lions with cubs at center.
Reverse: Charros (Mexican Cowboys) with horses.
Printed by American Bank Note Company, New York.
Benito Juárez - Benito Pablo Juárez García (March 21, 1806 – July 18, 1872) was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served as the president of Mexico for five terms: 1858–1861 as interim, then 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872 as constitutional president. He resisted the French occupation of Mexico, overthrew the Second Mexican Empire, restored the Republic, and used liberal measures to modernize the country.
Mexico’s First Bank: Banco de Londres Y Mexico
Banco de Londres y Mexico has the unique distinction of being the first Mexican bank that came into existence in the 1860s and introduced modern banking practices across Mexico. Englishmen William Newbold and Robert Geddes founded the Banco de Londres, Mexico y Sudamerica in Mexico City in 1864 when the Emperor Maximilian was on the Mexican throne. When Archduke Maximilian of Austria was installed on the throne of Mexico, Mexico’s elected President Benito Juarez was forced to flee to El Paso del Norte (renamed Ciudad Juarez in his honor on September 16, 1888) on the Mexico – United Stated border. One of the first major transactions for the bank was a remittance of 3,000 pesos from London to the account of Benito Juarez for the liberation of Mexico from France. When Benito Juarez returned to Mexico City after the overthrow and execution of Maximilian on June 19, 1867, Banco de Londres received his full support and confidence to introduce modern banking practices.
It was not until 1884 that a major rival bank, the Banco Nacional Mexicano, appeared on the scene by the merger of two banks. By 1886 Banco Nacional Mexicano was the largest bank and it also acquired the assets of a failing bank, Banco Comercial. In 1889 Banco de Londres dropped the “Sudamerica” from its title after it scaled back its operations. In 1904 the bank came under French control with Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas and the Société Financière pour l'Industrie au Mexique.
The Mexican Revolution against the rule of Porfirio Diaz in 1910 caused significant turmoil to Banco de Londres with the bad loans to the insurgent Francisco Madero and his rival Victoriano Huerta. By the time the revolution ended in 1916, Mexican money was worthless. Between 1934 – 1982 the bank was in the hands of private Mexican entrepreneurs.
In 1977 a bank supermarket, Banca Serfin, was created by the merger of Banco de Londres and Financiera Aceptaciones. “Serfin” is an abbreviation for servicios financieros integrados and the institution offers integrated financial services that included savings bank, investment bank, mortgage bank and trust company. In 2000, Serfin became part of Banco Santander Central Hispano, the largest financial institution in Spain with a presence in several Latin American countries. Banco Santander is the third largest bank in Mexico today behind El Banco Nacional de Mexico (Banamex) and BBVA Bancomer.
Shown below are five historical banknotes from the height of the Mexican revolution in denominations of 1 Peso (issued February 14, 1914), 2 Pesos (issued February 14, 1914), 5 Pesos (issued October 1, 1913), 10 Pesos (issued October 1, 1913) and 50 Pesos (issued July 1, 1914).