Mexico 1862-Mo centavo KM-Pn86

from Heritage sale 3098, lot 34149

from the Stack's Bowers sale of the Kirk Menczer Collection, lot 71025

The first specimen was lot 34149 in Heritage sale 3098 (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Mexico: Republic copper Specimen Pattern Centavo 1862-Mo SP53 PCGS, Mexico City mint. By Paredes. Variety with artist's name below the reverse wreath. A highly attractive, if ultimately unadopted, proposed design for Mexico's first Centavo coinage. Though it would be Rovira's seated liberty that would feature on the obverse of the circulation coinage of the following year, Paredes' name still appeared as engraver. To date, we have been able to locate just 2 other examples having come to auction in the last decade, with a single SP55 certified finer at PCGS. Though mild wear graces the highest points of the design, the surfaces retain a glossy chocolate patina that proves thoroughly captivating. Selections from the Galleon Collection." The 1841 pattern shows the government's early intent to decimalize the currency as early as the 1840's but the political climate was not conducive, the government's attention being distracted by coups d'etat and rebellions. This pattern of 1862, issued at the conclusion of the War of the Reform, shows the regime getting serious. However, the first centavos of 1863 looked very similar to the original pattern of 1841. The second specimen was lot 71025 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2025), where it sold for $16,800. The catalog description^[2] noted, "MEXICO. Centavo Copper Pattern, 1862-Mo. Mexico City Mint. NGC MS-62 Brown. Finest of only two in NGC Census, other example is VG-10. Rare, popular, and seldom offered Pattern that [w]as not adopted. This is the first Pattern of the period when the Decimal System was introduced. From the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Decimal Minors."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: copper.

Catalog reference: KM-Pn86, Guttag-Unl., Buttrey/Hubbard-42.

Source:

Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
Buttrey, T. V., and Clyde Hubbard, A Guide Book of Mexican Coins, 1822 to date, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1992.
^[1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, NYINC World Coins Signature Auction 3098, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
^[2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, October 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Decimal Minors and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.

Link to:

Mexico 1862-Mo centavo KM-Pn86

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