1918 Mexico 50 & 100 Pesos Specimen Set Banco de la Republica Mexicana PMG 58–63 ABNC

1918 Mexico 50 & 100 Pesos Specimen Set Banco de la Republica Mexicana PMG 58–63 ABNC

This is a very scarce 2-note specimen set from the never-issued 1918 series of El Banco de la República Mexicana, printed by the American Bank Note Company as part of an aborted plan to create Mexico’s first single bank of issue after the 1917 Constitution.

Both notes carry specimen serial A 000000, red SPECIMEN overprints, and punch cancellations, and are PMG-certified:

• 50 Pesos – Pick 14s, M322s – PMG 58 EPQ

• 100 Pesos – Pick 15s, M322s – PMG 63

Because the bank never opened, no regular circulation notes were issued; only a limited number of proofs and specimens such as these survive, making any matched high-denomination pair genuinely hard to find.

Historical significance – an unfulfilled central bank

After the 1917 Constitution mandated a single state-controlled bank of issue, President Venustiano Carranza advanced legislation to found Banco de la República Mexicana and even secured plans to use U.S. gold reserves as backing. ABNC prepared an elegant five-note series (5–100 pesos), but political and financial complications stalled the project; by the mid-1920s a different institution, Banco de México, was created instead.

As a result, these 1918 specimens are tangible relics of a failed central-bank experiment, sitting at the crossroads between the revolutionary chaos of Carranza-era paper money and the eventual stability of Banco de México issues.

Note 1 – 50 Pesos Specimen, Pick 14s

Design & features

• Obverse: Striking allegorical vignette with a male figure holding a sheaf of wheat and scythe at left (Agriculture) and a seated female with ship and rudder at right (Commerce/Navigation), flanking an ornate “50” counter in a baroque frame.

• Spanish legend “EL BANCO DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA pagará al portador, a la vista y en efectivo, la cantidad de CINCUENTA PESOS” promises payment at sight to the bearer, echoing classic 19th-century banknote text.

• Reverse: Large, finely engraved Aztec Calendar Stone (Piedra del Sol) dominating the center, with “50” counters in all four corners and rich guilloche work in olive-brown tones.

• Printed by American Bank Note Company, New York, whose imprint appears at the bottom margin.

The combination of allegorical agriculture and commerce on the face with the pre-Hispanic calendar on the back was chosen to signal a modern national bank rooted in both economic progress and indigenous heritage.

Note 2 – 100 Pesos Specimen, Pick 15s

Design & features

• Obverse: Dramatic central vignette of a cherub standing between two reclining female figures, each holding attributes of abundance and industry, symbolizing Mexico’s prosperity under stable credit.

• High denomination “100” numerals in ornate frames at all four corners, with the same promise-to-pay legend as the 50 Pesos in bold black lettering.

• Reverse: Again showcases the Aztec Calendar Stone, here in a powerful deep red palette with intricate scrollwork and denomination counters—an unmistakable design that later inspired other famous Mexican issues featuring the calendar.

As the top value of the planned series, the 100 Pesos specimen represents the pinnacle of ABNC’s engraved artistry for this unissued central-bank project.

Remarkable denominations & catalog notes

• 50 Pesos – Pick 14s / Frampton M322s – mid-high denomination intended for larger commercial payments.

• 100 Pesos – Pick 15s / M322s – the highest denomination of the planned 1918 set, never seen as a circulating note.

Complete or partial Banco de la República Mexicana specimen sets appear only occasionally in major auctions, and high-denomination pieces are especially prized, with five-note sets often catalogued as “seldom seen.”

Collector’s value

For advanced collectors of Mexico or central-bank history, this is a choice two-note nucleus of the elusive 1918 Banco de la República Mexicana series. The matching ABNC specimens with serial 000000, bold SPECIMEN overprints, shared Aztec-calendar reverses and PMG certification make them perfect for display as a “what-might-have-been” prelude to Banco de México. Sets combining both the 50 and 100 Pesos are far from common, and owning them together tells a complete story—from allegorical promise to unrealized reform—in just two beautifully engraved pieces.