Established in 1535, the Mexican Mint is one of the oldest minting institutions in the Americas. Today, it serves are Mexico’s National Mint and is known as the La Casa de Moneda de Mexico. The mint is not only responsible for striking circulating currency in Mexico, but it also produces gorgeous gold coins and silver coins.
Although most eyes in the modern precious metals market remain trained on prestigious North American Mints like the US Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint, the Mexican Mint in South America steadily churns out quality bullion coins with brilliant designs year after year.
Moreover, its tremendous minting capacity allows it to strike precious metals products for other nations as well. Its customers include countries like Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, and Spain among many others.
Mexican Mint History
The Mexican Mint, or as it is known in Mexico – La Casa de Moneda de Mexico, is a reminder of Spain’s invasion of South America. Once Spain bested the Aztec Empire in 1521, Spanish Royals started mapping out a colony in the Western hemisphere. The immense quantities of precious metals posed a unique challenge for the Spaniards.
After carefully weighing all options, the Spanish Crown decided that transporting unprocessed gold and silver all the way to Europe was a waste of resources. Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza came to South America bearing a decree from the Royal Crown soon after to create the very first precious metals mint in the Americas.
For the next 350 years, the Mexican Mint produced currency for the territories of ‘New Spain,’ which included all the Spanish colonies in South America – Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Trinidad, the Bay Islands, and the Philippine Island.
However, its products gained such renown that coinage from the Mexican Mint formed the basis of modern currencies like the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, and Chinese Yuan.
Banco de Mexico Significant Coinage
The Gold Centenario
Even though almost all coins struck by the Mexican Mint since its inception were well-known throughout the world, the Gold Centenario Coins made investors and collectors sit up and take notice.
These gold bullion coins were struck in 1921 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain. Every coin was assigned legal tender status to relay the full backing of the Mexican Government, with face values of 50 pesos each.
The modern Gold and Silver Libertads struck by the Mexican Mint take cues from the designs imprinted on the Centenario even today due to the designs’ popularity as well as their historical and cultural significance.
While the reverse highlighted the Coat of Arms of Mexico, the obverses of the Centenarios featured the image of Winged Victory with a laurel wreath in her right hand and broken chains in her left. The original rendition of these gorgeous designs was attributed to Emilio del Moral.
Mexican 50 Pesos Gold Coin
These gold coins’ popularity stems from their historical significance and sheer beauty. Not only are they actual coins circulated by the Banco de Mexico between 1921 and 1946, they bear gorgeous designs that form the basis for many future designs.
The obverses of these coins bear Mexico's National Coat of Arms - composed of an eagle perched on a cactus with a struggling snake in its beak.
On the other hand, the reverse sides feature the portrayal of the famed Angel of Independence, which is a monument and testament to the Mexican independence struggle.
Modern Mexican Coins
In addition to the circulating coinage produced by the Mexican Mint for Mexico’s National Bank, the Mexican Mint also releases precious metals products from time to time.
Of its releases, none come close to the popularity of the Gold and Silver Mexican Libertads, which pay tribute to the Gold Centenario Coins that were struck almost a century ago.
Mexican Gold Libertads
The Mexican Mint first launched the Mexican Gold Libertads in 1981 – making it one of the earliest gold coin series to retain popularity among collectors and investors to this day. Not only is it the official gold bullion coin of this North American country, it bears designs that portray the spirit of independence, liberty, culture, and heritage: integral components of Mexican values.
The Angel of Independence, or Monumento a la Independencia, is a victory column in downtown Mexico City. This grand commemoration of Mexican independence is etched on the obverses of every Mexican Libertad Gold Coin. Furthermore, the background of this image displays the famed Mexican volcanoes – Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl in all their glory.
On the reverses, Mexican Gold Libertads highlight the Mexican Coat of Arms – a ferocious eagle tearing into a snake with its sharp beak. Additionally, all the historical coats of arms used by Mexico over the years encircle the image of the current Mexican Coat of Arms.
Mexican Silver Libertads
The Mexican Silver Libertads make up the second facet of this internationally acclaimed annual precious metals coin series run by the Mexican Mint. Although the Gold Coin variants were first launched in 1981, the silver variants came along next year, in 1982. Since their mintage is always limited, they enjoy demand from a vast cross-section of precious metals collectors and investors who eagerly await each release.
The face of the obverse side highlights the fascinating design of the Mexican National Seal with the engraving "Estados Unidos Mexicanos." At the center of the seal, a majestic Mexican Golden Eagle is seen perched on a cactus, devouring a rattlesnake. Older official National Seals of Mexico encircle the current National Seal.
On the reverse face, a graceful image of the Winged Victory Statue of the Independence Victory Column is seen in the foreground, with the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatepetl in the background (two famous volcanic peaks of Mexico). The purity and weight of Silver, the year of issue and the metal used are imprinted (in Spanish) on the outer edge of this side.
Summary
The Mexican Mint has become a top world mint for producing some of the most popular gold bullion and silver bullion products in the precious metals industry. Not only is it their uniquely designed coins that please investors, but the Mexican Mint release their products to the wholesale market at reasonable premium prices. This allows retailers the ability to sell Mexican coins at small premium price mark ups when compared to the price of gold and price of silver. These two reasons will continue to make Mexican coins a popular invesment amoung metals investors worldwide.