ObverseImage: Wikimedia Commons · Second Mexican Empire (coin), National Numismatic Collection (image) · Public domain
Maximilian Peso
Mexico
1866–1867
Reference data compiled from public catalogs
Estimated Melt Value
$62.23
Based on Silver spot price ($79.17/oz) · 90.3% purity · 27.073g
Updated 6:41 PM
Collector premium not included
Specifications
| Country | Mexico |
| Years Minted | 1866–1867 |
| Composition | 0.903 silver |
| Weight | 27.073 g |
| Diameter | 37 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Design
Obverse
Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I facing right, with inscriptions including his name and title.
Reverse
Mexican eagle perched on a cactus devouring a snake, surrounded by a wreath and the denomination.
History & Notable Facts
The Maximilian Peso, struck during Mexico's brief French-backed empire, features the portrait of an Austrian nobleman awkwardly cast as emperor.
That image alone highlights the coin's oddity: a European face on a Mexican silver piece, minted amid political chaos. Workers in Mexico City hammered out these pesos from 1866 to 1867, using local silver that had fueled the economy for centuries. Designs included standard denominations, but variations in die quality suggest rushed production.
Exact mintage figures are murky; records from that era often vanished in later upheavals. What we know is that most survived as relics of a failed regime.
Circulation ended abruptly with Maximilian's execution in 1867. Pity the poor coin that outlasted its issuer.
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