50 Pesos 1970, Mexico
| in Krause book | Number: 49s |
| Years of issue: | 22.07.1970 |
| Edition: | 29 300 000 |
| Signatures: | Unknown signature |
| Serie: | Serie 1957 - 1870 |
| Specimen of: | 22.12.1948 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 157 x 67 |
| Printer: | American Bank Note Company, New-York |
* All pictures marked 
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Description
Watermark:
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made after the portrait by Ramón Pérez, 1865.
Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga (January 21, 1769 - June 26, 1811), born Ignacio Allende y Unzaga, was a captain of the Spanish Army in Mexico who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secret meetings organized by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, where the possibility of an independent New Spain was discussed. He fought along with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the first stage of the struggle, eventually succeeding him in leadership of the rebellion. Allende was captured by Spanish colonial authorities while he was in Chihuahua and executed for treason.
Allende was born on January 21, 1769, to a wealthy Spanish criollo family in San Miguel el Grande in Guanajuato. His father was Domingo Narciso de Allende, a wealthy trader.
In 1802, he joined the Viceregal army of New Spain, serving under general Félix María Calleja. In 1806, he started to favor the possibility of independence from Spain. His attendance at a conspiratorial meeting in Valladolid (today Morelia) was discovered, in 1809, by the Spanish and went unsanctioned. Regardless, Allende kept supporting the underground independence movement. He was eventually invited by the mayor of Querétaro, Miguel Domínguez and his wife Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez to discuss further plans for independence at their home. It was during one of these meetings where Allende met Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his captain Juan Aldama.
Originally, the independence movement was to be led jointly by Allende and Aldama. A change of plans prompted by the discovery of the conspiracy forced Hidalgo to start the rebellion earlier than agreed. The famous Grito de Dolores by Hidalgo signaled the beginning of the revolution, after which the conspirators rallied behind him. The rebel army quickly captured the town of Dolores and marched towards San Miguel el Grande, where Allende obtained the support of his cavalry regiment.
On September 22, 1810, Hidalgo y Costilla was officially made captain general of the Revolutionary army while Allende was made lieutenant general. After the famous capture of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, in Guanajuato, and his victory in the Battle of Monte de las Cruces Allende suggested Hidalgo march toward Mexico City and capture it. As a consequence of the rebels' defeat in the Battle of Calderón Bridge, the leadership of the Revolutionary army demanded the replacement of Hidalgo as their leader. Allende took this new responsibility and, with a decimated army, he decided to march north to the United States, hoping to gather more money, weapons and troops. The rebels, however, were ambushed at the Wells of Baján (Norias de Baján) due to the betrayal of Ignacio Elizondo, leading to the capture of Allende, Hidalgo, and several other commanders. Allende's illegitimate child Indalecio was killed during this ambush.
Allende was taken to the city of Chihuahua where he was tried for insubordination and executed by firing squad on June 26, 1811. His body was decapitated and his head taken to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas where it was shown to the public inside a cage hung from one corner of the building. In 1824 his remains were buried in the vault reserved for the viceroys and presidents in the cathedral of Mexico. His remains were moved in 1925 to the Independence Column in Mexico City. 
Revers:
The Angel of Independence (Spanish: El Ángel de la Independencia), most commonly known by the shortened name El Ángel and officially known as Monumento a la Independencia, is a victory column on a roundabout over Paseo de la Reforma in downtown Mexico City.
El Ángel was built in 1910 to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence. In later years it was made into a mausoleum for the most important heroes of that war. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Mexico City, and it has become a focal point for both celebration or protest. It resembles the July Column in Paris and the Berlin Victory Column in Berlin.
The base of the column is quadrangular with each vertex featuring a bronze sculpture symbolizing law, war, justice and peace. Originally there were nine steps leading to the base, but due to the sinking of the ground fourteen more steps were added. On the main face of the base, which faces downtown Mexico City, there is an inscription reading La Nación a los Héroes de la Independencia ("The Nation to the Heroes of Independence"). In front of this inscription is a bronze statue of a giant lion led by a child, representing strength and the innocence of youth during War but docility during Peace.
Next to the column there is a group of marble statues of some of the heroes of the War of Independence.The column itself is 36 meters (118 ft) high. The structure is made of steel covered with quarried stone decorated with garlands, palms and rings with the names of Independence figures. Inside the column is a two-hundred step staircase which leads to a viewpoint above the capital. The Corinthian-style capital is adorned by four eagles with extended wings from the Mexican coat of arms used at the time.
Crowning the column there is a 6.7 meters (22 ft) statue by Enrique Alciati of Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory, like other similar victory columns around the world. It is made of bronze, covered with 24k gold (restored in 2006) and weighs 7 tons. In her right hand the Angel, as it is commonly known, holds a laurel crown above Miguel Hidalgo's head, symbolizing Victory, while in her left she holds a broken chain, symbolizing Freedom.
Construction of El Ángel was ordered in 1900 by President Porfirio Díaz. Gen. Porfirio Díaz began the foundation work immediately and laid the foundation stone on January 2, 1902 and placed in it a gold chest with a record of independence and a series of coins minted in that epoch. But in May 1906, when the foundations were built and 2,400 stones placed to a height of 25 m, the sides of the monument collapsed, so Díaz created a study commission composed of engineers Guillermo Beltran y Puga, Manuel Marroquín y Rivera and Gonzalo Garita. The commission determined that the foundations of the monument were poorly planned, so it was decided to demolish the structure. The work was restarted under the supervision of a steering committee composed of engineers Guillermo Beltran y Puga, Manuel Marroquin y Rivera and the architect Manuel Gorozpe, leaving the artwork in the care of architect Antonio Rivas Mercado. All the sculptures were made by Italian artist Enrique Alciati. The monument was ready for the festivities to commemorate the first hundred years of Mexican Independence in 1910. The opening ceremony was attended by President Díaz and several foreign dignitaries. The main speaker at the event was Mexican poet Salvador Díaz Mirón.
An eternal flame (Lámpara Votiva) honoring these heroes was installed in the base of the column at the order of President Emilio Portes Gil in 1929.
The monument suffered some damage during an earthquake on July 28, 1957 when the sculpture of the Winged Victory fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. Sculptor José Fernández Urbina was in charge of the restoration, which lasted more than a year. The monument was reopened on September 16, 1958. It survived the devastating earthquake of September 19, 1985 with some damage to the staircases and the reliefs, but none to the Angel.
In lower left corner is a seal of Bank of Mexico.
Denominations in numerals are on the right and left sides.
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