Imperio Mexicano 1 Peso 1866

History of the Second Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. Using the pretext of collecting overdue loans to Mexico, Napoleon III of France justified the invasion by French troops. The French attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times. The military intervention put Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the Mexican Throne as Maximilian I. It was promoted and installed by the French, with some support from the Austrian and Spanish Crowns, in order to create a European-style monarchical system in Mexico. The French also had support from conservative elements within Mexico, who were looking for a way to promote stability and end the constant cycle of unrest and revolution. The Second Mexican Empire lasted three years, with one reigning emperor.

Portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter


The rule of Emperor Maximiliano was blemished by constant conflict. On his arrival in 1864 with his wife, Empress Carlota of Mexico, daughter of King Leopold I of the Belgians, he found himself in the middle of a political struggle between the Liberals, headed by Benito Juárez, and the Conservatives that backed him. The two factions had set up parallel governments; the Conservatives in Mexico City controlling central Mexico and the Liberals in Veracruz. The Conservatives received funding from Europe, especially from Isabella II of Spain and Napoleon III of France; the Liberals found backing from United States Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, after they had finished their own Civil War in 1865.

Because Emperor Maximilian was viewed as a French puppet by some, he was unpopular and many citizens did not regard him as the legitimate leader of Mexico. Under the orders of Benito Juárez in 1867 Maximillian was publicly executed at the Cerro de las Campanas, near Queretaro.

Execution of Maximilian I


The Second Mexican Empire Coins
As the key leader behind the Mexican Empire, Napoleón III proposed archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg as monarch. From 1864 to 1867, Maximilian of Habsburg, backed by French bayonets, imposed the use of the decimal system, which Ignacio Comonfort and Benito Juárez had previously tried to establish in Mexican coinage. The Maximilian coins stand out for their beautiful manufacture. On the obverse they show the emperor's image and the inscription "MAXIMILIANO EMPERADOR" ("EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN"). On the back appear the imperial coat of arms and the inscription "IMPERIO MEXICANO" ("MEXICAN EMPIRE"), the denomination, and the year. Sebastián Navalón, Cayetano Ocampo, and Antonio Spíritu designed these coins, among the most beautiful in Mexico. The ten- and five-centavo coins and the one-centavo copper coins present a simpler design.
Emperor Maximilian, ruler of the Second Mexican Empire from 1864-1867, minted the first coins with the legend "peso" on them.

Informations and photos from:
http://www.banxico.org.mx/sitioingl...canCoin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Mexican_Empire

And here's my coin: