Mexico offers one of the most prestigious bullion coins in the world with its gold Libertad. In fact, at the time of its release, the Libertad joined a market that only hosted the South African Krugerrand and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.
Since then, it has become one of the most desirable coins for precious metals investors and numismatists around the world. Read on for the rundown on the fabulous products produced south of the border.
The gold Mexican Libertad became available to the public for the first time in 1981. At the time, it was only the third bullion coin released for collectors and investors.
The 1980s Libertads were also among the lowest purity bullion coins produced by a sovereign mint. At the time, they were minted with .900 fine gold. These early Libertads were much closer to historical gold-bearing circulating coins, rather than its bullion coin counterparts.
The Mexican Mint also issued fractional Libertads in 1981 but then confined its production to the 1 oz versions for the rest of the decade. However, the mint underwent an apparent change of heart in 1991.
It began to mint the Libertads to be .999 pure. It also reissued the ½ oz and ¼ oz coins and added options for 1/10 oz coins and 1/20 coins to the series.
However, the Mexican Mint only minted these product lines for four years. Then, in 1995, the entire operation ceased. No new Libertads of any size were available between 1995 and 1999.
They briefly returned in 2000, then laid off the production lines again in 2001. Mexican Libertad mintages have only been consistently available each year since 2002.
Their colorful production history lends them a certain desirability within the coin collecting community. They routinely command higher prices than their contemporaries in the market.
The high prices are not simply due to the coins’ reputation, though. Comparatively, the Mexican Mint offers much more limited mintages than do other sovereign bullion-makers around the world. While we’re not sure about the rationale behind this shortfall, the result is a baked-in scarcity to each coin, and their relative rarity pushes the price for them higher than the average.
Like most sovereign mints, the Mexican Mint produces a certain number of Libertads as proof coins. These coins are prepared with more precise standards and are usually stamped twice.
The result is a coin with a striking appearance. The reliefs of a proof coin – the raised portions of the design – display a frosted appearance and look almost white. Meanwhile, the fields of a proof coin have a mirrored and shiny complexion, resulting in a coin with sharp contrasts between its design features.
The Mexican Mint takes things a step further with its Libertads by issuing so-called reverse proofs. These coins are exactly what they seem to be – where proofs have white reliefs and mirrored fields, reverse proofs have frosted fields and mirrored reliefs. They have an incredibly striking appearance and look like no other kind of coin.
The Libertads are certainly the best-known Mexican gold coins. However, like many governments, Mexico issued gold-bearing coins as currency in times past. In particular, the 5 Peso and 20 Peso coins issued in the 19th and early 20th centuries are part of the historical record as 90% pure gold coins – much like the Eagle coins during the same period in the US.
The other notable gold-bearing coins issued by the Mexican government are the Centenarios. Unlike the peso coins mentioned above, these coins were never meant to be legal tender.
Instead, Centenarios paid tribute to Mexican Independence and were the first to depict Winged Victory, a symbol of the country’s separation from Spain. The Centenarios, minted between 1921 and 1972, undoubtedly influenced the design of the Libertad, which features Winged Victory on its reverse.
Many of the same elements found on the Centenario transferred over to the design of the Libertad. Both sides of the coin feature iconic images that identify the coin’s country of origin.
The obverse of the Libertad features the Mexican coat of arms. The coat of arms depicts a golden eagle eating a rattlesnake while sitting atop a prickly pear cactus.
The image should be a familiar one, as it is the same sigil featured on the Mexican flag. The obverse is finished out by a cactus wreath and the phrase “Estados Unidos Mexicanos,” or United States of Mexico.
On the reverse of the Libertad, the familiar image of the Roman goddess Victoria with wings appears. The depiction mirrors a signature statue in Mexico City, which commemorates Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1810.
Behind the goddess, two Mexican volcanoes appear. The two volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, are twin volcanoes in central Mexico that are sacred places central to an Aztec myth.
If you would like to get started with a Mexican gold coin collection, Provident Metals is more than happy to help. Reach out to us via live chat, send us an email, or call us on the phone anytime you like. Our trained counselors are standing by 24/7 to assist you on your journey.
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