Today I am showing off my 1oz .999 plata pura 2016 Mexican Libertads. Libertad = freedom in Spanish, and pura plata translates to pure silver. I picked these up on my last trip to Mexico from Banco Azteca in Acapulco, so I know they are legit. I did have one of them called into question at one point however (more on that further down with a video). I originally had a set of 5 of these Libertads.
I originally picked up five of these from down south, with the intent of giving some of them away as gifts to close friends that were back home and couldn't make the trip with me. Therefore, I gave away three out of five of them as gifts, and kept two for my personal collection.
Th Mexican Libertad has been around since 1981, but the Mexican Mint has been around much longer, since colonists first arrived to the Americas in search of gold and silver. "Antonio de Mendoza, who was operating under the authority of the Spanish crown, founded the Mexican Mint in 1535 - making it the oldest continuously operating mint in the New World.
The Mexican Mint flourished largely because the region had access to huge quantities of silver. It rapidly became one of the largest producers of coinage on the North American continent, with a reputation for high quality work. The Mexican coins produced quickly spread all over the New World and could be found even in the early colonies of the U.S., primarily because their quality and purity.
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This period’s most notable innovation was the Spanish dollar, which is commonly known as the “Piece of Eight”. The Spanish dollar became the most widespread coin in the New World and even remained legal tender in the United States for almost a century after they formed their own government" (1). I used to own one of these before it was lifted.
Image SourceThe Mexican Libertad is designed for bullion stackers, and comes in gold and silver. One of the main reasons I like the Libertad so much is the fact that they are minted in fractional amounts smaller than 1 oz. They are minted in 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, & 1 oz sizes in both silver and gold, and larger 2 oz, 5 oz, and 1 kilo sizes in silver as well.
I originally intended to acquire the different fractional silver versions of these, however I could not find the fractional Libertads while in Acapulco. I found out later that the Mexican Mint only refines a limited number of the fractional silver pieces every year, which I think is ridiculous. The low mintage number makes them almost impossible to acquire at a fair price, even when you are near the area where they are minted.
Image SourceThe reverse of the current Mexican Libertad depicts a winged Victoria of Mexican Independence Victory Column in the forefront of a non-active volcanic backdrop, with text on the top side of the boarder stating "1 ounce pure silver, the year of mintage, and law .999 (literal translation of the actual coin text: "1 onza plata pura (year) ley .999").
The obverse of this coin (which I thought was the reverse originally) depicts the coat of arms of Mexico surrounded by previous coats of arms that were used throughout the country's history. This was a beautifully designed and well thought out approach to this side of the coin in my opinion.
As I mentioned above, I had one of the five Libertads I got from Mexico called into question by one of the people I gifted one to. My friend tried to sell the coin to a local store (which I asked him not to do for a few years when I gave it to him, as silver is currently under-valued), and apparently he was told that it was not real silver. I have not been able to test that specific coin yet, however this notice caused me to test one of the other ones I gave to another friend. The guy that is calling fake still has yet to bring me the coin to test personally.
Below is a quick video of me testing one of the Libertads for magnetism. It definitely did not magnetize, as silver should not, since silver is not magnetic. Click pic below to play.
In case you missed them, check out my other recent #steemsilvergold posts:
CLICK HERE to view my article on the 2 oz. Silver Griffin of Edward III Silver Coin from the Royal Mint's Queen's Beasts Series
CLICK HERE to view my article on the 1 oz Proof Bitcoin GUARDIAN Commemorative Silver Round from Anonymous Mint
CLICK HERE to view my article on this MS69 Graded 1oz. PURE GOLD Red Dragon of Whales Coin from the Royal Mint
CLICK HERE to view my article on the Red Dragon of Whales (Silver) & the Queen's Beasts Coin Series from the Royal Mint:
CLICK HERE to view my article on The 1st EVER PLATINUM COIN Produced by the Royal Mint: Also MY 1st EVER Piece of Platinum!
CLICK HERE to view my article on My First Hand Made Silver Wire Wrapped PENDANT!
CLICK HERE to view my article on My Silver Story & Where I am Now: My Steemit Story Part 3
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TM