With the summer comes the anticipation of the biggest numismatic event of
the year: the ANA World’s Fair of Money in August. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is
thrilled to be an official auctioneer of this show that will be held in lovely
Denver, Colorado. Continuing the series of blogs highlighting fantastic world
coins, today we feature a spectacular coin representing the first Mexican 8
Escudos struck after that nation threw off the yoke of Spanish dominion. Augustin I Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico
shortly after the War of Independence and confirmed by the congress of May 19,
1822. On June 21, 1822, he was crowned as Emperor Augustin I in the cathedral
of the capital, Mexico City. He ruled for less than a year as he was forced to
abdicate the throne on March 19, 1823. Iturbide’s reign defined the struggle
between liberal ideals of populism and the conservative authoritarian regimes;
both ideals would control the politics of Mexico intermittently in the
following century.
The 8 Escudos was the only gold denomination minted in
1822 and is historically significant as the first gold coin of Mexico
post-Spanish rule. The obverse design depicts the right facing bareheaded bust
of Iturbide, surrounded by the legend “Augustinus Dei Providentia” with the
date of 1822 and the Mexico City mintmark. The obverse is notable as it
contains the correct spelling of “Augustinus”, while later issues of this
denomination would sometimes contain errors in the legend. The reverse design
features an early prototype of the Mexican coat of arms, an eagle perched atop
a cactus. The eagle is crowned and three quivers full of arrows are propped
against the cactus. The legend reads: “Constitut. 8. S. J. M. Mex. I.
Imperator.” This very attractive piece is rare in high grade; in this case it
is graded by NGC as Mint State 62. This piece is tied for the second finest
certified with just one example finer. The luster and eye appeal, as well as
its historical significance elevates this piece to highlight status in the next
collection it enters.
While we are no longer accepting consignments for our August 2017 ANA
Auction, we are currently taking consignments of world and ancient coins as
well as world paper money for our October 2017 Collectors Choice Online Auction
and the January 2018 New York International Auction. Time is running short, so
if you are interested in consigning your coins and paper currency (whether a
whole collection or a single rarity) be sure to contact one of our consignment
directors.
