Mexico 1998 1/4 onza
This specimen was lot 39383 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $105. The catalog description[1] noted, "MEXICO. Silver 1/4 Onza, 1998. Mexican (Potosi) Mint. PCGS MS-68." In 1949 the Mexico City mint issued the world's first onza to modest success. It tried again in 1980 with a resurrection of the 1949 design. In 1982 the medallion (technically, Libertads are not coins) was redesigned to use the obverse from the 1921 two pesos. The weight was reduced and the fineness increased from .925 to .999 silver. The medallion was an immediate hit. It was the only silver bullion coin on the market for several years and, backed by the Mexican government, outcompeted private mint issues. It inspired imitations such as the U. S. silver eagle (from 1986) and the Canadian Maple Leaf (from 1988) which have cut into its market share to the point where several of the later dates are downright rare. Fractionals, including this quarter ounce, are much scarcer. The type is recorded for 1996-2024.
Recorded mintage: 6,400 plus 300 proofs.
Specification: 7.77 g, 0.999 fine silver, 27 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-611.
- Amaya Guerra, Carlos Abel, Epitome Ilustrado de la Moneda Mexican Moderna, 1905 a 2015, Monterrey, Mexico, 2015.
- Bailey, Don and Lois, Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money, Volume 1, An Illustrated History of Mexican Coins and Currency, Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2014.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
Links to:
- 1998 20 centavos
- 1998 50 centavos
- 1998 peso
- 1998 2 pesos
- 1998 5 pesos, 1 oz silver, disco de la muerte
- 1998 5 pesos, 1 oz silver, jaguar stele
- 1998 bimetallic 10 pesos
- 1998 100 pesos, 1 oz gold, snake sculpture
- 1998 100 pesos, 1 oz gold, eagle sculpture
- 1998 onza, silver
- 1998 2 onzas, silver
- 1998 5 onzas
- 1999 10 centavos
- 1999·2000 5 pesos, butterfly
- 1999 5 pesos, training ship Cuauhtemoc
- 1999 20 pesos, UNICEF/year of the child
- 1999 1/20 onza oro, Teocuitlatl
- 1999 ½ onza, silver
- 1999 onza, silver
- Coins and currency dated 1998
- return to Mexican coinage of the modern era, since 1905