For several years I lived in the south west United States right along the border of Mexico. I recall going down to Mexico with friends to just have dinner . Many people would go there to get all of their dental work done because it was much cheaper than getting it done just across the border. This was before the cartel wars became a problem, it was a wonderful and very safe place to visit.
During that time I started to collect coins from Mexico. I have been a coin collector since my youth and the coins from south of the border were beautiful and very inexpensive even though they were made of silver or even the small gold ones. Things have changed over the last twenty years or so, and Mexican coins are pretty expensive these days!
The coin I'm sharing today isn't the prettiest nor the shiniest one I have, but it is old. I bought this one I believe at a store in Long Beach, California that buys silver and gold. I used to know the owner before he sold out and retired. He would save things he thought I would like before sending them off to the refinery and sold them to me at spot price.
From numista.com
1905 was the first year this coin was produced and it tends to be a little more expensive, especially in near mint condition. This one is far from that, but it still worth probably more than forty dollars, likely much more. I love old coins that have some wear like this because you can imagine who's held it and what it was spent on over the decades. It doesn't look too bad for 120 years old!
The Mexico City Mint (Casa de Moneda de México) is the oldest mint in the Americas founded in 1535 by royal decree. After the Spanish has successfully conquered modern day Mexico as well as parts of Central and South America they were plundering large amounts of gold and silver. Transporting the precious metals was difficult, so it made sense to make coins for easier transport back to Spain.
It was decided to build the mint on top of part of the former royal palace to try and erase the past. The site chosen was the black house which was Monctezuma's meditation site. It was discovered during renovations of a building in downtown Mexico City. As a matter of fact the entire city of Tenochtitlan that was build by the Aztecs was buried and Mexico City was built on top of the old city.
Just to have an idea of just how big the old palace was, it was recreated digitally as you can see below with the surrounding city. It was a massive structure!
By Thomas Kole - https://tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143545132
The building built for the new mint was the one below. It no longer houses the mint and has been converted into a national museum and the mint moved to a larger facility. Just by the scale of the building you can imagine just how big the black house must have been!
mxcity.mx
The Mexico City Mint has since produced some of the most beautiful silver and gold coins produced in the world. From pieces of eight and pirate treasure to modern day Libertads, they have made some of the most beautiful coin designs in the world that I still love to collect today along with many others in the Silver Gold Stackers here on Hive.
That will wrap up my post today. I learned quite a bit about the ancient city of Tenochtitlan today, it was an impressive place. It's a shame it was all buried, but in a way that may be fortunate because it's still intact under the streets of Mexico City! Future excavations by archeologists may learn much about the city. I hope you enjoyed my post and please feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Thank you everyone for all of your support, it's deeply appreciated. Have a great week everyone!
References:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13971.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Mint
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casas_Nuevas_de_Moctezuma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Denegrida_de_Moctezuma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II
Disclaimer:
All pictures are mine unless otherwise indicated
I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!
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