Item number: A4643

Reference number: KM#379.5

Year: AD 1846

Material: Gold (.875)

Size: 17.0 x 17.0 mm

Weight: 3.3800 g recorded

Manufactured by: Casa de Moneda de México

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This specimen represents a one-escudo gold coin minted by the Centralist Republic of Mexico in AD 1846.

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 Centralist 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 ‘*1E•Mo•1846•M•F•21Qs.’, in which ‘1E’ denotes the denomination of one escudo, ‘Mo’ represents the mint mark of the Mexico City Mint (Casa de Moneda de México), ‘1846’ indicates the year of mintage (AD 1846), ‘M•F’ presumably stands for the assayers’ initials, and ‘21Qs’ signifies ‘21 karats’, equivalent to a gold purity of 87.5 per cent.

Antonio López de Santa Anna was the most controversial and legendary military and political strongman of early post-independence Mexico. He joined the Spanish colonial army in AD 1810 to suppress the independence movement, yet pivoted in AD 1821 to support Mexican independence. Subsequently, in opposition to the autocracy of Agustín de Iturbide, he allied with other factions to issue the Plan of Casa Mata in AD 1823, which overthrew the First Empire. Following his successful repulse of a Spanish expeditionary force attempting a colonial restoration in AD 1829, he was revered as a national hero. This triumph facilitated his formal entry into politics, leading to his assumption of the presidency on nine distinct occasions prior to AD 1855. His political allegiances remained highly mercurial; having initially aligned with the Liberals, he subsequently defected to the Conservatives. Furthermore, whilst personally commanding the army to suppress the Texas secessionist movement in AD 1836, he was defeated and captured, whereupon he was compelled to sign an agreement recognizing Texan independence. In AD 1838, he lost his left leg whilst resisting the French invasion during the Pastry War—an ordeal he subsequently exploited as political capital to fashion a patriotic persona. Nevertheless, his strategic errors commanded further defeat during the Mexican-American War in AD 1846. During his final administration in AD 1853, he implemented a tyrannical dictatorship and exiled prominent Liberals. He was ultimately deposed and banished in AD 1855 by the Revolution of Ayutla initiated by the Liberals, spending his final years in destitution before dying in Mexico City in AD 1876.

The establishment of the Centralist Republic of Mexico (AD 1835–1846) originated from the intense domestic strife that characterized the twilight of the First Federal Republic. The Liberal administration that assumed power in AD 1833 attempted to implement radical secularization and military reforms, which deeply alienated vested interests among prominent landowners, high-ranking clergy, and conservative military officers, thereby inciting nationwide instability. Capitalizing on this turmoil, Santa Anna, who had hitherto observed the situation with calculated detachment, re-emerged to placate the conservative factions. In AD 1835, he declared the abolition of the AD 1824 Federal Constitution, and in AD 1836, he orchestrated the promulgation of the Seven Laws (Siete Leyes)—a conservative, highly centralized new constitution that downgraded autonomous states into administrative departments whose officials were appointed directly by the central government, thus formally inaugurating the Centralist Republic era. Nonetheless, the nascent regime immediately confronted acute domestic and international tribulations. Domestically, slave-owning immigrants and local residents in the north, incensed by centralization and increased taxation, revolted, culminating in the formal secession of Texas from Mexico in AD 1836; subsequently, the southern region of Yucatán also declared independence in AD 1840. Amidst continuous internal conflicts and rebellions, combined with the collapse of the mining sector, national finances verged on bankruptcy, forcing the state to rely upon high-interest foreign loans. Internationally, France launched an invasion over compensation claims in AD 1838, whilst the expansionist ambitions of the United States toward northern Mexican territories became increasingly manifest. In AD 1846, seeking to seize the southwestern corridor, the United States instigated the Mexican-American War. As American forces advanced into the heartland of Mexico and occupied the capital, the Centralist government dissolved. Owing to the severe degradation of the conservative factions, Mexico subsequently restored the federal framework under the stewardship of the Liberals.

物件編號: A4643

參考書目編號: KM#379.5

年代: 公元 1846 年

材質: 黃金 (.875)

尺寸: 17.0 x 17.0 mm

重量: 記錄為 3.3800 g

製造地: 墨西哥城造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2025

這是一枚墨西哥第一聯邦共和國於公元1846年所鑄之金幣，面額為一埃斯庫多。

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「墨西哥中央共和國」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「*1E•Mo•1846•M•F•21Qs.」，其中「1E」為面額「一埃斯庫多」(one escudo)，「Mo」為墨西哥城造幣廠(Casa de Moneda de México)的鑄幣標記，「1846」為鑄造年，「M•F」大概是驗金師的姓名縮寫，「21Qs」即為「21K」，相當於含金量87.5%。

安東尼奧·羅培斯·德·聖塔安納(Antonio López de Santa Anna)是墨西哥建國初期最具爭議性與傳奇色彩的軍政強人。他於公元1810年加入西班牙殖民軍鎮壓獨立運動，卻在公元1821年轉向支持墨西哥獨立，隨後又因反對伊圖爾維德的專制，於公元1823年聯手發表《卡薩馬塔計畫》推翻第一帝國。在公元1829年成功擊退試圖復辟的西班牙軍隊後，他被尊為民族英雄，自此步入政壇，並於公元1855年以前先後九次出任總統。他的政治態度反覆無常，曾身為自由派，後又倒向保守派，更在公元1836年親率大軍鎮壓德克薩斯分離運動時戰敗被俘，被迫簽字承認其獨立。公元1838年，他在抵抗法國入侵的「糕餅戰爭」中失去左腿，這段經歷反而成為他塑造愛國形象的政治資本。然而，他在公元1846年美墨戰爭中再度因指揮失誤導致戰敗，並於公元1853年最後一次執政時實施殘暴的獨裁統治、驅逐自由派，最終在公元1855年被自由黨發動的阿育特拉革命澈底革職並流放，晚年窮困潦倒，於公元1876年病逝於墨西哥城。

墨西哥中央共和國(公元1835至1846年)的建立，源於第一聯邦共和國末期激烈的內部衝突。公元1833年上台的自由派政府試圖推行激進的世俗化與軍事改革，嚴重觸怒了既得利益的大地主、高級教士與保守派軍官，引發全國性的動盪；此時一直冷眼旁觀的聖塔安納乘勢復出，迎合保守派勢力，於公元1835年宣布廢除1824年聯邦憲法，並於公元1836年主導頒布了傾向保守的中央集權新憲法《七條法律》(Siete Leyes)，將地方各州降格為由中央直接任命官員的行政區，正式開啟了中央共和國時期。然而，新生政權隨即陷入內外交困的極端考驗：在國內情勢方面，不滿中央集權與加稅政策的北方蓄奴移民與當地居民揭竿而起，導致德克薩斯於公元1836年正式脫離墨西哥，隨後南方的猶加敦地區也於公元1840年宣告獨立，國內戰火與內訌不斷，加上採礦業崩潰，財政幾近破產，只能仰賴高利外債度日；在國際情勢方面，公元1838年法國因求償問題發動侵略，而美國對墨北方領土的擴張野心也日益顯現。公元1846年，美國為奪取西南走廊，美墨戰爭爆發，美軍攻入墨西哥腹地並佔領首都，中央共和國政府於焉瓦解，由於保守派遭重創，墨西哥隨後在自由派的主導下恢復了聯邦體制。