Mexican Patterns... No, I Haven't Got Any

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 6,002
nalaberong Pillar of the Community Canada 2805 Posts	Posted 12/15/2013 2:51 pm Lately I have been reading up on Mexican pattern coins. Because of monetary reform in 1992, many "patterns" were actually produced in large numbers, but were made obsolete before they could enter circulation. This ATLAN $1000 coin is very affordable, because of its awkward maybe-a-pattern status: Then we have the 1986 SUD peso... 33 are known to exist, but catalog price is $65! On ebay, they seem to go for a bit higher. To be honest, I didn't want to tell people about this because I really want one, but the Internet is all about sharing knowledge: General Jose Morelos appears on the "normal" pesos of 1986, and as a leader during the Mexican Revolution (against the Spanish), he issued these crude "SUD" pesos (for his Army of the "South", in the Spanish language): I hope none of you are motivated to buy one, but this is a really cool coin: not only is it a nifty replica of a popular Mexican revolutionary issue, but it was issued by the very person who appears on the "normal" peso type of 1986. Imagine the Franklin half having the design of the Fugio Cent on the tails side! But we have another pattern to look at. Mexico kept experimenting with circulating silver coins, even as the peso became more and more inflated - because if you're the largest silver producer in the world, go for it! It ended with the $100 coin in 1979... or did it?! Yes... there is a pattern silver $100,000 coin out there. Considering there were about $3,300 pesos to the USD in 1990, this would have had a face value of around $30 at the time... and even today, this would convert to N$100, worth about $8 right now. It's doubtful that it would have circulated, and the new pesos that replaced it were also made in silver, but this would have contained about a troy ounce. If you're still over Mexican revolutionary coin designs brought to life on modern issues, though, you're in luck... in 2011, Mexico produced a series of bimetallic $100 coins, featuring faithful replicas of Mexican coins, from the Spanish colonial pillar dollars to the 1914 "who's that guy on the horse" peso: Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 12/15/2013 5:43 pm Some patterns are extremely rare, and were never intended to leave the mint. Other patterns are relatively common, and were released in large numbers to increase public awareness to a proposed change in the coinage. Report this Post to the Staff
swamperbob Pillar of the Community United States 5362 Posts	Posted 12/16/2013 03:58 am If I had to guess the 1986 Sud Peso picture is of a replica not a pattern - the raised rim seems wrong for a Mexico City struck coin of that period. Looks like a transfer impression or some other form of die replication may have been used. Report this Post to the Staff
Numismat Pillar of the Community United States 1666 Posts	Posted 12/16/2013 05:16 am I don't think the mintage of 33 is correct. Not only based on the prices they go for, but based on the fact that there are many of them out there. A handful on ebay, a handful on Latin American sites, a handful recently sold. Unless all 33 are out there for sale right now it can't be correct. And the rims on these coins appear somewhat crude from what I have seen in images of other pieces. Probably due to their test coin status. Report this Post to the Staff
swamperbob Pillar of the Community United States 5362 Posts	Posted 12/16/2013 2:09 pm Numismat It is of course possible that 33 was an error. But even if they made 33,000 that mintage is in the same range as the 1955 DDO cent. There are definitely many more than 33 in existence - that's a fact. In addition, why would a pattern be crudely struck at the rim? The rim resembles a typical die made from a plastic cast of a coin which shrank and a margin had to be added. According to Occam's Razor the theory with the fewest assumptions is most likely correct. So I would suggest that a simple numismatic forgery to meet collector demand is the simplest answer to the problem of numbers. Report this Post to the Staff
Numismat Pillar of the Community United States 1666 Posts	Posted 12/16/2013 10:44 pm Interesting idea swamperbob, and would also explain the relatively low prices if there were in fact only 33 original pieces made. Report this Post to the Staff
swamperbob Pillar of the Community United States 5362 Posts	Posted 12/17/2013 01:02 am Yes and it would be another case in which business pressures to meet demand and make sales replace the need to distinguish between a genuine pattern and replica of one. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 6,002

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: World Coins and Currency Forums Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.29 seconds to rattle this change.