Lot 1805

Description

Mexico, War of Independence Insurgent Coinage, 8 Reales (in copper) 'Tierra Calliente', T.C.1813 (KM.248). Large flan good very fine or better, with some verdigris due to having been buried, rare.

Ex Virgil Brand Collection.

The obverse legend, 'SUD', or 'South' in Spanish refers not to the coin being from South Mexico, but to the wind, which blows from the south. The legends portends a revolutionary wind, blowing across the 'tierra calliente', or 'hot ground, which is not hot from the sun, but from the fight for independence. The Mexican revolutionary forces would go to farms and procure whatever provisions they might need from the local farmers, and pay with these copper cartwheels, which the farmers would either accept or face being shot. The coins were of course buried, as this one was, since the government forces would shoot any farmers found trading with the enemy. This specimen, coming from the Virgil Brand Collection, exhibits his usual fondness for massive flans.