NEWP

[Hussulo 6]

Won these two on eBay tonight.

Mexico War of Independence Oaxaca SUD 2 Reales 1812

Mexico War of Independence Oaxaca SUD 8 Reales 1813

"Coins issued by the insurgents

Because the miners were in the hands of the royalist authorities, the insurgent faction suffered currency scarcity and depended on forced loans and currency captured from adversaries. For that reason, the insurgents minted their own currency to pay their troops. The insurgent mintings were done with rudimentary methods, and because the insurgents had no silver supply, they minted just a few coins with this metal and most with copper.

In October 1810, Miguel Hidalgo commissioned José María Morelos to organize an army in the south of the country. Morelos became the leader of the insurgent movement after the capture of Hidalgo in March 1811. With Morelos, the insurrection was transformed; he managed to unite the ideas of intermediary groups with the demands of the people, and he proclaimed for the first time non-subjection to the Bourbon monarchy.

Morelos coins

The copper coins ordered by Morelos were equivalent to promises of payment. In other words, they could be exchanged for their face value in gold and silver coins upon the triumph of the revolution. Thus, for the first time fiduciary currency was used in Mexico. The obverse of these roughly manufactured coins bore a Morelos monogram along with the denomination and mint year. On the back, a bow and arrow appears, and underneath them, the word “SUD†(“SOUTHâ€). There were two main variants: A plain one, and another with profuse floral adornment. They were produced in eight, two, one, and half-real coins.

Although the Morelos coin type is quite uniform, there are several varieties due to the fact that the mintings took place in different locations (Tecpan, Huautla, Oaxaca, Acapulco, Tlacotepec, Chilpancingo, Cerro de Atijo, and Tehuacán). Despite research on this subject, we can only conjecture on the mint types, and there is no complete registry of the varieties. The key features of the Morelos coin design are the monogram on the front and the bow and arrow on the back. The monogram bears the letters “M O S,†Morelos’ initials. This feature seems to have undergone a transition from the plain letter “M,†to “JM,†to “JMo,†to “SMo.†But it is impossible to confirm that such a transition took place in that order. "

Quoted form:

The history of Mexican coins

[Geordie582 18]

Excellent find! The sort of thing that makes numismatics exciting. Pity more people don't see the potential of the hobby!

[TomGoodheart 403]

That's brilliant! I agree with Geordie. Even though it's nothing to do with what I collect I still find it exciting. And having the history behind a piece is what makes collecting into numismatics.

With all the programmes on TV about history, archeology and interest in family history it still bemuses me that people don't seem to find this sort of thing as interesting as we do! Ah well ... all the more for us I guess!

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[Geordie582 18]

Maybe we shouldn't encourage the hobby - we'll soon reach a point where we can no longer afford the coins - if we were succesful

[Hussulo 6]

Thanks guys I totally agree.

British coins will always be my main interest but I am also interested in siege coins and coins minted locally by warring factions. I guess I just have a soft spot for coins which are out of the norm.

Hopefully next week I will be buying Cyprus Siege Coin dated 1570 where the Venetians produced these coins in Famagusta while under siege by the Ottoman Turks.

It's just a start but it will be an intersting series to build and will have to include British siege coins to, like Newark and Pontefract.