One of the more interesting articles explored not the regular coinage but the substitutes that could be found there from the days of the Aztecs into the 1800s, including cacao beans, axe money and fragile soap money. The images of Cortes, Montezuma, Cuauhtemoc, Hidalgo, Iturbide, Maximilian and others fill this story. Ralph Brown told the story of “General Villa and The Revolutionary Bills of 1913-17.” While “Men Behind the Coins,” by Neil Utberg, explored the various rulers and prominent figures who played a role in the nation’s coinage. This article included a detailed look at the development of Mexican coinage, exploring the various silver reales and gold escudo issues, the countermarks and the numerous mints. “After much study, the establishment of a mint at Mexico City was authorized in 1535 and empowered to coin silver pieces of three, two, one, half and quarter reales.” Next was an 11-page, illustrated history of Mexico’s coinage, by Henry Christensen. Mexico means all this and more, and the flavor of it all remains in Mexico today.”Īn article on the history of Mexico, by Ed Rochette, followed: “It is said that Mexico offers everything. It means coinages of royalty, republic and necessity coinage of revolutionaries. It means following the routes of the Spanish Conquistadores. It means tracing an exchange system back to the cacao beans of the early Middle Ages. “For Mexico, to the collector, means a lot of things.

Bank of mexico mint san luis potosi