1879, the circulation of Mexican silver was approved in government and official entities, eventually allowing public distribution in 1881. However, some saw an opportunity for profit in this and bought Mexican pesos outside of Puerto Rico before importing them, in the process gaining a profit of up to 40 centavos per peso. In 1884, a number of different coins were countermarked with a fleur-de-lis for circulation on Puerto Rico. Spanish 2, 4 and 8 reales, and 5 and 10 centimos, United States' 20 cents, quarters, halves and dollars were all countermarked and used until they were redeemed in 1894. By 1895, the coins circulating in Puerto Rico were mostly Mexican silver, creating a shortage of currency. To resolve this, Spain issued a Royal Decree stating that the Mexican coins were to be replaced by ones minted in Madrid, with special coins created exclusively for Puerto Rico. To execute this move, exchange notes in one-peso denomination were created. Once the exchange concluded in 1896, the provincial coin was already in circulation. Silver 20 centavos and 1 peso coins were introduced in 1895, followed in 1896 by silver 5, 10 and 40 centavos. The 1 peso coins bore the denomination as "1 PESO = 5 P.TAS". These exchanges heavily affected the government's economy. Some years later, Ceredo Millán a commercial firm in San Juan obtained some of the now-obsolete Exchange Notes, which were converted into souvenirs and offered as gifts to their clients. Banco Español de Puerto Rico On May 23, 1887, Maria Christina of Austria and Victor Balaguer, Spain's Overseas Minister, signed a royal decree proposing the creation of a royal bank in Puerto Rico. A waiting period of three months was imposed to those interested in pursuing the project, who had to present a business proposal as dictated by the order. Two proposals were formally presented and taken under consideration. One of these, was presented by the Sociedad Anónima de Crédito Mercantil de Puerto Rico (lit. "Puerto Rico Mercantile Credit Company"), which was represented by Manuel Vicente Rodríguez, Enrique Vijande, Guillermo Mullenhoff, Pablo Ubarri Capetillo and José Caldas, with all of them serving as the group's directors. The other one was presented by a coalition of French and Spanish bankers. The proposal which bore the signature of Francisco Lastres and Eulogio Despujols, who acted as their representatives, was ultimately accepted. On May 5, 1888, a second royal decree was issue,