The Centennial of the Mexican gold 50 pesos Centenario, the Angel of Independence

Ever since the first minting of this magnificent gold coin, the 50 gold pesos, with its beautiful obverse and reverse designs, have graced collections over the past 100 years. 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the first gold 50 pesos as well as the silver 2 pesos.

The Centenario, depicting a classical personification of Liberty, represents, in my opinion, one of the finest creations of numismatic art, right up there with the Liberty of the Saint Gaudens 20 dollar gold coins of the 20th century. Designed by Emilio del Moral, the depiction of Liberty on the 50 and 2 pesos coins is the same as the statue in Mexico City, at the traffic circle on the Paseo de la Reforma.



The gold 50 pesos was minted between 1921 and 1947. The dates of 1921 and 1931 are key dates, with low mintages. The date of 1947 is generally considered a "frozen" date, reissued in subsequent years, as a bullion coin.

I have a few gold 50 pesos, centered around scarcer years. This is my 1921 Centernario, purchased from the Money Company back in 1992, at their Auction 27. As these soft gold coins go, this example is relatively free of major bag marks. There are some dark spots, where the copper alloy did not mix in with the gold. Still, the beauty of winged Liberty is clear and a sight to behold. The image incorporates the classical Greek Nike, or Winged Victory, with that of Liberty, a wreath of victory in her right hand and a broken chain in her left.

KM 481



September 16th, the bicentennial of Mexican independence, came and went this week. Before refocusing on ancient coins, I was an avid collector of coins from the War of Independence. This is a subject for another thread, given the breath and complexity of the coins issued during this turbulent period, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821.

Here are two.

This Morelos copper 8 reales SUD has been part of the collection since the early 1980s. Back then these coins, actually tokens meant to be redeemed for silver (never happened), were quite common. At the flea market in Mexico City back then they could be bought in bulk. I bought this coin from a US dealer because of its clarity of strike and its clean and well made flan. It has been stored in a "Gemvelope", in a cotton liner, so it is little change since the time of purchase.

KM 234

19.0 grams



Another coin, purchased from Rick Ponterio years ago, is a cast 8 reales of the Congress of Chilpancingo, 1813-1815. This cast coin's date appears to be 1807, and that of Charles IV, Mexico City, assayer JH. There are two counterstamps: the Congress of Chilpancingo (looks like a Type A) and another with a LVS monogram.

KM 281

24.6 grams




So, please post your angels, SUDs or anything else to commemorate these anniversaries!

Thank you.

 

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The Angel of Liberty is also featured on their 200 Pesos note:

 

Yes, that design has been used in currency as well.

Thank you for mentioning that and posting some nice examples.

 

That 1813 SUD is incredible, it's not very often you see them, specially in that condition.

 

Thank you.

It was possible back then to cherry pick these coins, there were so many of them. The dealer charged at premium, which was quite high back then, of $75. I have a couple of examples as well as scarcer dates, but this coin has been the best over the years.

 

The gold is a little out of my price range but I do have this one.

 

Hello Robin,
Thanks for reminding all of us about this centennial as I'm sure many collectors of this coin are not Mexican nationals.
I put together the complete set rather later than your purchases, but still when gold had not gone over 900. I consider myself rather lucky in that it was just blind luck.
No great instinct there...(Funny how a blind hog sometimes finds the truffle)
J.T.

 

Most of the SUDs I’ve seen are rough, including mine. Looking for pics made me realize how small a percentage of my Mexican coins are on my phone.





pics aren’t loading but the real color is darker anyway

 

Nice coin!

I thought I had a 1921 2 pesos, but apparently not. I must have sold it with other coins when I was raising cash. This is a tough coin to locate in really nice high grade.

 

That's a nice, bold counterstamp.

 

The Greek god of victory, Nike, the model for the angel on the 50 and 2 pesos, was a popular one depicted on coins in the ancient world. Nike is associated with Athena. Syracuse also used Nike, flying over a quadriga on the reverse of many of her coins.

This example is a tetradrachm from Syracuse, Second Democracy, 460-406 BC.

17.3 grams