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Cinco de Mayo, Doña Manuelita, and the Banco Nacional de México Click image to enlarge.

A rich married financier, a beautiful aristocrat, a sordid love triangle, a country on the brink of civil war… It’s a story out of a telenovela. And, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, the holiday that commemorates the 1862 victory of the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla, it’s the story of Manuela García-Teruel y Manso, also known as Doña Manuelita. A native of Puebla, she captivated the right and powerful (sometimes to her detriment), and her face was, at one time, the most well-known in all of Mexico.

The Battle of Puebla

The state of Puebla is located in the southwest of Mexico and is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the state of Veracruz. The Battle of Puebla occurred during the French Intervention (also called the Second Franco-Mexican War), which was Napoleon III’s infamous attempt to re-establish France as a colonial power in the Western Hemisphere. The intervention resulted in, somewhat paradoxically, an Austrian Archduke, Maximilian, being declared Emperor of Mexico in 1864.

The onset of the intervention coincided with the American Civil War: the French landed in Veracruz in late 1861, planning to move on to Mexico City via Puebla in April 1862. The better-equipped and numerically superior French forces attempted to take the two forts guarding Puebla and were repeatedly repulsed, finally retreating on the 8th. The French would eventually capture Puebla in a two-month-long siege starting in March 1863, but the damage, in terms of patriotic fervor and xenophobia, was already done. Emperor Maximilian’s tenure ended in ignominy (and a firing squad) on June 19, 1867.

The Junta de Paris, Banco Nacional Méxicano & Banco Mercantil Méxicano

According to papermoneyofmexico.com, the website of the U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association, diplomatic and financial relations between Mexico and France did not resume until 1880. But when they did, the inflow of foreign capital was enthusiastic, leading to the creation of many banks in Mexico. (Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, the “Pick” book, records almost 50 banks issuing paper money during this period.) Among these institutions was the Banco Nacional Méxicano, administered, via Edward Noetzlin, by a group of Continental financiers called, somewhat ominously, the Junta de Paris. Popular opinion did not necessarily follow the flow of capital. During 1884 negotiations between the Junta and the Mexican government, protestors disrupted the proceedings by chanting “Muera a Noetzlin” (“death to Noetzlin”). Similar issues bedeviled the Banco Mercantil Méxicano, formed by a group of Spanish-born businessmen with local interests, in an attempt to compete with the Banco Nacional Méxicano.

This led to the merger of the Banco Nacional Méxicano and the Banco Mercantil Méxicano in 1884, forming the Banco Nacional de México. Both predecessor banks printed notes for just two years and were required to retire their notes within two years following the conglomeration, meaning that issued examples, such as the Banco Nacional Méxicano Pick# S249a / MPM# M307a 1882 1 Peso, are quite rare. (The second catalog number, abbreviated “MPM,” is from the Mexican Paper Money 2017 Edition, edited by Cory Frampton, Duane Douglas, et al.)

Antonio de Mier y Celis

The first of these merging banks, the Banco Nacional Méxicano, was led (locally) by a Consejo de Administración, headed by Antonio de Mier y Celis. With the merger, it looked like he might be out of the job. Yet instead, Mier in 1884 was having a moment. He became the president of the board of directors of the Banco Nacional de México, wresting unusual (and unusually lucrative) concessions for the new institution.

The Mexican government agreed to underwrite their line of credit at the bank with customs duties, restrict the creation of any additional note-issuing banks in the Federal District (Distrito Federal), and pledged to accept Banco Nacional de México notes in government transactions. As papermoneyofmexico.com puts it, the Banco Nacional de México became “the official financial agent of the government and its intermediary for the settlement and subsequent service of the public debt.” In other words, it had “a practical monopoly” on issuing paper money in Mexico.

These concessions were obviously (and wildly) successful. The bank issued between 28% and 67% of all banknotes in Mexico during the period 1890-1910. In addition to volume, the Banco Nacional, in accordance with its name, had reach. According to Mexican Paper Money, “By the turn of the century, branch offices had been opened in a majority of the important cities and towns throughout the Republic of Mexico.” There were over 50 branches, almost twice the number of any other institution at the time, as indicated by a quick scan of other listings in the Frampton book. Finally, the Banco Nacional had persistence: it managed to survive the Mexican Revolution and the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s to become today’s Banamex, the second-largest bank in Mexico (now a subsidiary of Citigroup).

Pick# S255b / MPM# 296b 1913 Banco Nacional de México 1 Peso featuring Doña Manuelita and a steam train, with an 8 reales coin on the back Click image to enlarge.

Manuela García Teruel

In 1884, Mier was holding the reins of what would become a financial juggernaut, and he was in love. (Though perhaps not for the first time). Manuela García-Teruel y Manso, born in Puebla in 1860 of a rich, upper-class family, at some point, made her way to the capital, where she caught Antonio’s eye.

There were two problems. First, Mier was already married to Isabel Pesado, daughter of a formerly prominent politician and newspaper editor, José Joaquín Pesado. (Pesado was part of the three-man jury that chose the lyrics for the Mexican National Anthem in 1854.) Second, Doña Manuelita spurned Antonio’s advances. She wouldn’t even give him permission to have her portrait taken. It appeared she didn’t want anything to do with him.

There are different accounts of what happened next. One is possibly interpreted as romantic; the other, not so much. Either way, Antonio de Mier y Celis used his influence to obtain a portrait of Manuelita in secret, then used his position at the Banco Nacional de México to have her portrait added to the new banknote designs that were then being created for the bank. Some claim this was intended as a kind of grand romantic gesture, either to impress her or to gain her favor. Other sources quote Mier as saying that if Doña Manuelita refused to allow him her portrait to look at in private, then he would ensure that “all the inhabitants of the Mexican Republic would have it in their hands.” Either Mier couldn’t read the room, or he didn’t handle rejection well.

Above: Fr# 259 United States Series of 1886 $5 Silver Certificate featuring the “Silver Dollar Back” Below: Pick# S261r / MPM# M302r ND Banco Nacional de México 100 Pesos Remainder with representation in portrait and on the back of the National Emblem of Mexico Click image to enlarge.

The Banknotes of the Banco Nacional de México

Like most of the pre-revolution banks in Mexico, Banco Nacional de México used the American Banknote Company (ABNC) to design and print its notes (ABNC was sometimes represented by its translated imprint, Compañía Americano de Billetes de Banco, abbreviated CABB). Thanks to Antonio de Mier y Celis, the elegant designs created for the Banco Nacional de México feature Doña Manuelita on every note (well, every issued note – specimens and proofs of unissued 50 centavos and 100 pesos designs exist, but without Manuelita).

Despite their somewhat tumultuous origins, the ABNC designs are otherwise a feast of mature (and sometimes fanciful) engraving work, and the Pick book helpfully provides the engraver’s titles for the principal vignettes. The lowest-issued denomination can be taken as representative, such as the 1913 1 Peso note. The overall format is somewhat unusually asymmetrical, anchored right of center by a steam train (“Anthracite Burner”) and at the far left by the portrait of Doña Manuelita used on each denomination. The portrait is in neoclassical style, with Manuela García-Teruel y Manso sporting a tiara and a collar-type necklace, almost a gorget, above the national emblem of Mexico.

The note has a green back, dominated by overlapping images of the face and reverse of an 1881 8 Reales coin. Although possibly following the design of an earlier Banco Mercantil Méxicano issue, the timing is still curious, so far as collectors of U.S. notes are concerned. The 1 peso was first printed in 1885, a year prior to the United States Series of 1886 $5 Silver Certificate (Friedberg# 259-265) with the famous “silver dollar back,” featuring the face of a Morgan Dollar and pairs of overlapping reverses of the same to either side.

The national emblem of Mexico used on Banco Nacional de México issues is perhaps better characterized as a representation of the emblem. Based on the Aztec founding legend of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the national emblem of Mexico is composed of a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. But Doña Manuelita’s portrait shows an eagle simply clutching a snake. The differences are even clearer on the 100 pesos note, where nearly the entire reverse shows an eagle simply standing on a snake without rattles.

The other Banco Nacional de México designs feature attractive period vignettes: a pair of prospectors in a conference, Christopher Columbus exploring America, and cowboys rounding up cattle or lassoing wild horses. There is also a bevy of allegorical female figures: “Literature,” “Tropics No. 2,” “Justice,” “History,” “L’Orient,” “Naiad,” and “La Siesta.”

Left: Pick# 21s / MPM# M4615s ND Banco de México 5 Pesos Specimen featuring “Gloria Faure” Right: Pick# 258d / MPM# M299as 1902 Banco Nacional de México 10 Pesos with Puebla overprint Click image to enlarge.

Collecting the Banknotes of the Banco Nacional de México

If Antonio de Mier y Celis really did intend to put a portrait of Doña Manuelita in the hands of every Mexican, he probably succeeded. The financial success of the Banco Nacional de México meant that Manuela García-Teruel y Manso’s was the most widely circulated woman’s face in Mexico prior to the introduction of the “Gloria Faure” Banco de México 5 Pesos design in 1925.

The Banco Nacional de México issues provide fertile ground for collectors. Thanks to the prolific volume, examples are readily obtainable. The bank’s persistence means it was still around in 1934, celebrating its 50th anniversary by releasing albums containing face and back examples of every denomination from its period of issue. These are characterized by a “BILLETE SIN VALOR” stamp on either the face or reverse; an example of this overprint can be seen a bit earlier in the image featuring the Banco Nacional de México 100 Pesos Remainder. The subsequent liquidation of these albums, combined with an unusually large reservoir of remainders and specimens, means even uncirculated notes can be found.

The bank’s reach, with its many branches (and branch stamps and cancellations), also provides ample opportunities for dedicated variety hunters. The Pick# S258 / MPM# M299 10 Pesos probably has the most, listing 69 varieties in Mexican Paper Money as of 2017.

Conclusion

The Battle of Puebla arose from local resistance to colonial ambitions, and its aftermath shaped Mexico, even in the financial arena, as attested by the history of the Banco Nacional Méxicano, Banco Mercantil Méxicano, and Banco Nacional de México. The story of Antonio de Mier y Celis and Manuela García-Teruel y Manso is a curious interlude in that history, and perhaps, as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo (and the money shaped by the events commemorated on that holiday), we can spare them a thought or two. But this is especially so for Doña Manuelita, a daughter of Puebla who went on to achieve her own peculiar, if reluctant, kind of fame.