5 pesos 1902

Common. While regional Mexican banknotes from this era can vary in availability, the eBay market data provided shows numerous examples in various conditions selling regularly, with prices ranging from approximately $30 to $700 USD depending on condition and variety. The wide range of prices and consistent sales activity across multiple condition grades (CIRC, VG, UNC, Unknown) indicates this is a regularly traded note with sufficient supply in the collector market. Remainder notes like this example were sometimes produced in larger quantities than circulated notes, as they represent unissued printings held by the bank or printer.

Banco de Tamaulipas was a state-chartered institution operating in northeastern Mexico during the early 20th century, a period of regional financial development following the Mexican Revolution's precursor years. The landscape imagery on the reverse—featuring the natural environment of the Tamaulipas region with its shoreline and evergreen forests—reflects the local geography and economic character of this coastal Mexican state. The use of a child's portrait (Guadalupe Obregón) as the central vignette was a common practice in Mexican regional banknotes of this era, often chosen to represent youth, growth, and the future prosperity of the issuing bank's territory.

The obverse presents a formal portrait of Guadalupe Obregón as a young child with curled hair, framed within an ornate oval medallion with intricate circular borders, positioned centrally on the note. The denomination '5' appears in four ornate shield-shaped cartouches, one in each corner, with crown or heraldic symbols in the upper corners emphasizing the note's official status. The entire composition is rendered in black and tan/beige tones on an off-white field. The reverse features a naturalistic landscape vignette depicting a scenic shoreline with evergreen forest and two deer standing in shallow water or at the water's edge, enclosed within a formal frame and accompanied by the denomination '5' in circular frames on the left and right sides. The back employs a green and black color scheme. Both sides are framed by ornate decorative borders combining floral and geometric patterns characteristic of early 20th-century bank note design.

Front Side: 'BANCO DE TAMAULIPAS' (Bank of Tamaulipas), 'SERIE S.A. PAGARÁ AL PORTADOR' (Series S.A. Will Pay to Bearer), 'A LA VISTA A LA PAR, EN EFECTIVO' (At sight at par, in cash), 'CINCO' and 'Cinco Pesos' (Five/Five Pesos), 'H 177099' and 'No 177099' (Serial number), 'TAMPICO' (city of issue), 'INTERVENTOR DEL GOBIERNO' (Government Interventor), 'GERENTE' (Manager), 'CONSEJERO' (Counselor), 'American Bank Note Co New York' (printer attribution). Back Side: 'BANCO DE TAMAULIPAS' (Bank of Tamaulipas), 'AMERICA BANK NOTE COMPANY NEW YORK' (American Bank Note Company printer attribution), denomination markers '5' appearing in circular frames.

This note was produced by the American Bank Note Company (ABNC) of New York using steel engraving, the standard security printing method for high-quality banknotes of this period. The intricate line work, fine detail in the portrait and landscape vignettes, ornate borders, and the precise geometric patterns visible throughout are all hallmarks of steel engraved intaglio printing. The multi-color printing (black and tan on the obverse, green and black on the reverse) indicates separate printing passes, a technique ABNC perfected for producing secure, difficult-to-counterfeit currency.

This example is identified as Series G or H (reference indicates both may apply), representing a specific printing series of Banco de Tamaulipas 5 Pesos notes. The serial number H 177099 places it within a documented series. As a remainder banknote (unsigned, unissued), this represents the BK-TAM-6 variety in standard references. The note's status as an unsigned remainder distinguishes it from circulated examples that would bear handwritten or printed signatures of bank officials in the designated signature blocks.