Item number: A4641

Reference number: KM#381.6

Year: AD 1863

Material: Gold (.875)

Size: 28.0 x 28.0 mm

Weight: 13.5400 g recorded

Manufactured by: Casa de Moneda de México

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This specimen represents a four-escudo gold coin minted by the Second Federal Republic of Mexico in AD 1863.

The centre of the coin’s obverse features the Mexican coat of arms, depicting an eagle holding a snake in its beak, perched upon a prickly pear cactus growing from a rock in the middle of a lake. This coat of arms is derived from Aztec mythology, wherein the rock described corresponds to the original site of Tenochtitlan, which is present-day Mexico City. The oak and laurel branches below symbolise victory in Greco-Roman mythology and are consequently frequently employed as symbols of republicanism. Circumscribed above is the Spanish inscription ‘REPUBLICA MEXICANA’, representing the official name of the Second Federal Republic of Mexico, the ‘Mexican Republic’. The edges of both the obverse and reverse of the coin are encircled by fine denticles.

The centre of the reverse features an open book, upon whose pages the word ‘LEY’—Spanish for ‘Law’—is faintly discernible. To the right, a hand holds a staff topped with a Phrygian cap; this headgear originated from the manumitted slaves of ancient Rome and became a symbol of liberty and liberation following the French Revolution. Circumscribed above is the inscription ‘LA LIBERTAD EN LA LEY’, which translates to ‘Liberty under the Law’. Encircled below is the mint mark and assayers’ initials reading ‘*4E•Mo•1865•C•H•21Qs.’, in which ‘4E’ denotes the denomination of four escudos, ‘Mo’ represents the mint mark of the Mexico City Mint (Casa de Moneda de México), ‘1865’ indicates the year of mintage (AD 1865), ‘C•H’ presumably stands for the assayers’ initials, and ‘21Qs’ signifies ‘21 karats’, equivalent to a gold purity of 87.5 per cent.

Benito Juárez was born in AD 1806 into an impoverished indigenous Zapotec peasant family in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, and was orphaned at an early age. After overcoming numerous adversities, he studied law and entered politics in AD 1831. He served successively as a municipal councillor of Oaxaca and a state legislator, before being elected Governor of Oaxaca in AD 1847. Deeply revered for his administrative integrity, competence, and profound devotion to the lower classes, he was hailed by most Mexicans as the ‘Lincoln of Mexico’. In AD 1853, the dictator Santa Anna, having regained power, ordered his arrest and exile to the United States. However, Juárez returned to his homeland in AD 1855 to participate in the uprising that successfully overthrew the conservative dictatorship. He subsequently served as the Minister of Justice in the provisional government, enacting the ‘Ley Juárez’ (Juárez Law), which abolished the legal privileges of military officers and the clergy. During the ensuing, brutal Reform War (AD 1858–1860), he emerged as the core leader of the liberals, concurrently serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the provisional president, leading indigenous peasants and mestizos to defeat the conservatives. He officially assumed the presidency in AD 1861, immediately confronting the grim reality of a tripartite armed invasion by Great Britain, France, and Spain, alongside French efforts to install Maximilian to establish the Second Empire. In AD 1863, although the Second Federal Republic of Mexico was defeated, resistance continued unabated. The imperial regime was successfully overthrown in AD 1867, and Juárez continued to advance liberal reforms until his death in office on 18 July AD 1872. Due to his steadfast defence against foreign intervention, Juárez subsequently became a revered Mexican national hero.

The Second Federal Republic of Mexico became embroiled in turmoil and crisis from the AD 1850s onwards. Domestically, the brutal Reform War (AD 1858–1860) erupted between the liberals and conservatives, resulting in a deeply fractured society, severe devastation of the mining, commercial, and industrial sectors, a perennially unbalanced budget, and an exhausted national treasury. Although the liberals led by Juárez returned to the capital at the end of AD 1860, the defeated oligarchic landowners, the Catholic Church, and the military conservatives refused to accept defeat, actively seeking external intervention on the international stage to subvert the liberal republican system. Internationally, in response to the imminent financial bankruptcy, the Juárez administration announced a moratorium on foreign debt payments in AD 1861. This provided a direct pretext for intervention by European powers, prompting Great Britain, Spain, and France to launch a joint military invasion of Veracruz. Whilst Great Britain and Spain subsequently withdrew their forces after reaching agreements with the Mexican government, the French Emperor Napoleon III sought to establish a puppet monarchical regime in the Americas. Colluding with domestic Mexican conservative factions, France deployed substantial military reinforcements to escalate the offensive. In AD 1863, French forces captured the capital, Mexico City, and dissolved the federal government, marking the collapse of the Second Federal Republic, which subsequently transitioned into the French-backed Second Mexican Empire ruled by Maximilian I.

物件編號: A4641

參考書目編號: KM#381.6

年代: 公元 1863 年

材質: 黃金 (.875)

尺寸: 28.0 x 28.0 mm

重量: 記錄為 13.5400 g

製造地: 墨西哥城造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2025

這是一枚墨西哥第二聯邦共和國於公元1863年所鑄之金幣，面額為四埃斯庫多。

金幣正面中央是墨西哥國徽，為一隻叼著蛇的雄鷹佇立在一棵從湖中的岩石長出的仙人掌上。國徽取自阿茲特克人的神話，而神話中所敘述的岩石，便是特諾奇蒂特蘭城的原址，也就是如今的墨西哥城。下方的橡葉與月桂在希臘羅馬神話中象徵著勝利，也因此經常作為共和制的象徵。周圍上方環列西班牙文「REPUBLICA MEXICANA」則為「墨西哥第二聯邦共和國」的官方名稱「墨西哥共和國」。硬幣正面與背面的邊緣皆以細方齒環繞。

銀幣背面中央為翻開的書，書頁上隱約可見「LEY」，即西文中的「法律」。右側手持棍上撐著一頂弗里吉亞帽，該服飾源於古羅馬時期的解放奴隸，於法國大革命後，該帽成為自由與解放的象徵。周圍上方環列「LA LIBERTAD EN LA LEY」，可譯為「法治下的自由」；下方環列「*4E•Mo•1865•C•H•21Qs.」，其中「4E」為面額「四埃斯庫多」(4 escudos)，「Mo」為墨西哥城造幣廠(Casa de Moneda de México)的鑄幣標記，「1865」為鑄造年，「C•H」大概是驗金師的姓名縮寫，「21Qs」即為「21K」，相當於含金量87.5%。

胡亞雷斯(Benito Juárez，書中譯作胡爾雷斯)於公元1806年出生於墨西哥南部瓦哈卡州的薩波特克(Zapotec)原住民貧困農民家庭，幼年父母雙亡。他在克服重重困境後攻讀法律，並於公元1831年起步入政界，歷任瓦哈卡市議員、州議員，並於公元1847年當選瓦哈卡州州長，因作風廉潔能幹、全心關懷低下階層而深受愛戴，被大部分墨西哥人譽為「墨西哥的林肯」。公元1853年，重掌政權的獨裁者聖塔安納下令將其逮捕並流放至美國，但他於公元1855年返國參加起義，成功推翻了保守派的獨裁政府。隨後他出任臨時政府的司法部長，頒布了取消軍官與教士特權的《胡爾雷斯法》，並在隨後慘烈的「改革戰爭」(公元1858至1860年)中成為自由派的核心領導人，兼任最高法院審判長與臨時總統，帶領印第安農民與混血種人擊敗保守派。公元1861年他正式就任總統，隨即面對英、法、西三國武裝入侵，以及法國扶植馬克西米連諾建立第二帝國的嚴峻局勢。公元1963年，墨西哥第二聯邦共和國戰敗，但仍抵抗不懈，最終於公元1867年成功推翻帝制，並繼續推動自由主義改革，直至公元1872年7月18日於任內逝世，由於其抵禦外國的經歷，胡亞雷斯日後成為墨西哥民族英雄。

墨西哥第二聯邦共和國自公元1850年代起陷入動盪與危機。在國內情勢方面，自由派與保守派在公元1858至1860年間爆發了殘酷「改革戰爭」(Reform War)，導致社會嚴重分裂，採礦業與工商業受到嚴重破壞，預算始終無法平衡且國庫空虛。雖然胡爾雷斯領導的自由派在公元1860年底重返首都，但戰敗的大地主、天主教會與軍事保守派不甘心失敗，積極在國際上尋求外部力量以推翻自由派的共和體制。在國際情勢方面，為應對財政破產危機，胡爾雷斯政府於公元1861年宣布暫停支付外債，這給了歐洲列強直接干涉的藉口，英國、西班牙與法國隨即以此為由聯合發兵入侵維拉克魯茲。隨後英、西兩國因與墨方達成協議而撤軍，但法國皇帝拿破崙三世則企圖在美洲建立君主制傀儡政權，與墨西哥國內的保守派勢力裡應外合，大舉增兵進攻。公元1863年，法軍攻占首都墨西哥城並廢除聯邦政府，第二聯邦共和國至此全面覆滅，隨後演變為法國支持、馬克西米連諾一世統治的墨西哥第二帝國。