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I believe a lot of collectors here are familiar with the Mexican silver Libertad's. If not you might consider checking them out. They are Mexico's answer to our American Silver Liberty bullion coins. I received this one in the mail today and wanted to share it here as it is a bit unique.
So last week I was looking around eBay, something I seldom do, and saw something new to me. A 1982 one ounce silver Mexican Libertad error. I’ve never seen a Libertad error. After some negotiations I am the proud new owner if it. This coin is raw, also something I would never buy from eBay. I am pleased to say it arrived as shown.
This morning I would like to share this coin I bought from an odd source. The coin is a 1891 Dos Centavos Libertad. The source I bought it from is odd in that they live in the Transylvanian area of today’s Romania. I know. Crazy, no? He is very reliable as I have bought from him before. eBay. Just low end stuff so far, but he has great rates and great shipping. No problems. In fact the last blog I did was a coin from him. The Italian 1 Centesimo. So, back to this coin. This is a great toned dark 1891 DOS CENTAVOS from Argentina. It is a bronze, 10 g, 30 mm, 1.8 mm thick, round coin. Minted from 1882-1896. KM #33. The obverse features the coat of arms of Argentina in the center, name of the country above and date, 1891, below. Argentina does not use heraldic arms, but the emblem, which is commonly referred to as a coat of arms. At the top is the golden Sun of May, signifying Argentina as a new and glorious nation. The cap at the top of the spike is the Phrygian cap symbolizing liberty. The spike under the cap represents the people's willingness to defend their land and protect their liberties. The two shaking hands symbolize the unity of the different provinces of Argentina. On the reverse is the head of Liberty, wearing a Phrygian cap. The engraver's name, Eugène-André Oudiné is below the head. The inscription "Freedom'' in Spanish and the denomination "ONE CENTAVO". What drew me to this particular common coin is the die breaks. They are predominately located at 9 to 7 o’clock on the obverse. Also, some of the stars deserve closer inspection for possible doubling. All in all, I found this to be a great coin to own and study. I hope you enjoyed my blog and photos. Please feel free to comment. Thanks for your time!!
I would like to share some Libertad knowledge with everyone. First, as most people know, this bullion coin is made by Mexico. I call it bullion as even though it is produced by a country, it caries no monetary value on it's surfaces. The coins listed below are as follows: 1995 one ounce, 2017 1/2 ounce, 2017 1/4 ounce, 2017 1/10 ounce and 2017 1/20 ounce. These, I'm going to call them coins now because it just feels better and right to me, have gone through a lot of changes and varieties in their brief history. The most noticeable one is in the one ounce coins diameter. during 1982 -1995 the diameter was 36 mm. From 1996-2017 the diameter was changed to 40 mm. The obverse and reverse also went through several variety changes. It's important to know that the Obverse is, now, the side with the Mexican coat of arms. The reverse shows the famous statue Winged Victoria which can been found in Mexico City. These coins are also made in 2 ounce, 5 ounce and one kilo size. All minted in 999 silver as well as in 999 gold. I want to keep this blog short in the hopes that members will look up other facts themselves. It is a very interesting coin. I strongly recommend you read about the twin volcanoes behind the statue! It is quite a love story on par with Romeo and Juliet, in my opinion! I hope you enjoy this blog. I realize I put up quite a few blogs on Latin American coins and banknotes. After US money I find them some the most beautiful and affordable world money. I look forward to your comments. As always, thanks for looking.
Here is a nice Example of toning of a silver coin. This is a 1995 Mexican One Onza, more commonly called a Libertad. It is Mexico's answer to our Silver American Eagle. One ounce of .999 pure silver. These are very popular coins that I collect. The 1995 is the last year they were minted in this diameter, 36 mm.. After that they were and are made to 40 mm.. The obverse features the national coat of arms. The reverse shows the Winged Victory Statue and the mountains Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. These mountains have a very interesting story associated with them and I encourage everyone interested in Mexico and their coinage to research it. Now to the toning. Look at the progression of colors and their shape and you will see a perfect example of how they should appear on a coin. There is a natural pattern and order of colors. Often, on counterfeit coins, they get the colors and their progression wrong. Very often they are falsely toned to hide imperfections in the fake coin it self. The ANA Summer Seminar has a class on this very topic.. If you enjoy toned coins of any type, you might consider taking it or something like it. Counterfeits are everywhere, even inside slabs! Thanks for looking. As always I look forward to your comments.
Here is one of the coins I acquired at the Anaheim Show. It is a 1987 Libertad. Slabbed and rated MS 65 by NGC. As you can see, I hope, it is very colorfully toned. That is a big weakness of mine. The Libertad is a bullion coin, much like our silver American Eagle and Canada's silver Maple Leaf. I started collecting them just because I like them. I usually just buy the BU coins. I saw this one and didn't even stop to ask how much. I just figured it would be out of my budget. My wife however wasn't so sure and inquired as to the price. Well I was very mistaken and snatched it up. This coin was bought on the last hour of our stay there. Never give up on that special coin. Thanks for looking!
A short while ago I wrote a small blog about a silver round I bought. I mentioned that I usually don't buy them. When it comes to world bullion coins, I do buy them when I see something interesting. I call it when the coin "talks to me". Here are two coins that "talked to me". The first one is a 2012 one ounce silver Hawksbill Sea Turtle called the Taku, which is on obverse. The reverse depicts Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll. It has a value of 2 dollars and was minted in New Zealand under the authority of Figi. Toning is starting to creep around the coin.