Mexican Silver Libertad

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Mexico has a long and glorious history of producing especially exceptional silver coins and also high quality gold coins. Their Casa de Moneda de Mexico mint is the oldest in the Western hemisphere. These coins have circulated the globe for over four centuries. The Silver Libertad is a relatively newer coin, but this has not stopped it from gaining worldwide acceptance and popularity. It remains the signature silver bullion coin of Mexico.

Mexican Silver Libertad History and Background

The history of Mexico's Silver Libertad starts with the story of the National Mint of Mexico, called in Spanish La Casa de Moneda de México. Viceroy Antonio de Mendoz first established this mint with orders directly from the Spanish monarchy in 1535. This made it the original mint in the New World once the Spanish conquered the Aztec Empire. Mexico was and is the largest silver producer in the Western Hemisphere which enabled it to continuously strike enormous quantities of silver coins over the last more than four centuries.

The Mexican Silver Libertad itself began production in 1982. Since then, the mint changed its style substantially in the middle of the 1990s. The coin's original design came from the Centenario gold coin. This Mint of Mexico struck this coin from 1921 to 1947 in honor of the 1921 hundred year anniversary independence celebrations of Mexico from Spain. Though the mint has issued the Silver Libertad in a wide range of denominations and sizes, the one ounce version has always been the most heavily demanded and struck.

These Mexican Silver Libertad coins remain among the most affordable of bullion silver coins produced today. Their quality and design are superior. Thanks to their wide circulation, these silver pieces prove to be one of the most readily recognized bullion coins in the globe. With a high purity content of .999 fine silver, these bullion coins are terrific additions to any collection or retirement portfolio. They are considered to be on a level with the Canadian Silver Maple and American Silver Eagle coins.

Mexican Silver Libertad Physical Characteristics

The Mexican Mint guarantees all Silver Libertad coins for purity, weight, and content. Silver Libertad coins are available in a range of sizes including 1/20 ounce, 1/10 ounce, 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, two and five ounces, and one kilogram. The one ounce coin is the standard and most popular issue.

Coin Design

The Mexican Silver Libertad obverse in the most popular one ounce version features its weight, purity, fineness, and minting date. Editions since the year 2000 have a scene from the Mexican Independence Victory Column, the winged Victoria that is based on Roman designs. In her right hand is a wreath to stand for victory, while in her left hand is the broken chain to represent Mexico's freedom. In the background there are two volcanoes called Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (celebrating two lovers) pictured from a pre-Spanish legend.

The reverse of these coins shows the eagle consuming the snake on a cactus in the middle of the coin from the Mexican National Seal. Around this image is a variety of historic Mexican coats of arms. Over the national seal is the Spanish name for Mexico proclaimed as “Estados Unidos Mexicanos.”

Coin Specifications

Mexican Silver Libertad bullion has been struck in a wide range of sizes and denominations. The most popular one ounce specifications are:

• Mass: 31.1 grams
• Diameter: 40.6 mm
• Thickness:  3 mm
• Silver Content: 1 ounce pure silver

Mexican Silver Libertad Pricing

The Mexican Silver Libertad coins do not have a face value. This means that they can not be spent in Mexico as legal tender. As silver bullion issues, their value is based mostly on the silver content of the coins. As with most countries' silver bullion coinage, the fair market values of Silver Libertads is derived primarily from the spot price of silver.

Silver prices vary with each market trading day. Because of this, the prices of the Mexican Silver Libertad coins also change every day the silver markets are open. You are able to view the real time prices of precious metals on our home page.

Investing in Mexican Silver Libertad Coins Through an IRA

Mexican Silver Libertad coins have been approved by the IRS to include in your personal precious metals IRA account. By adding these high quality silver bullion coins to your retirement IRA, you obtain a high level of diversification for your portfolio that will not move up and down alongside bond and stock prices. Silver has long been a popular alternative to gold for an investment hedge on your portfolio because silver prices are so much less.

This is a possible retirement investment for you because the IRS allows these self directed IRAs to hold tangible precious metals like silver, platinum, gold, and palladium. This gives these accounts their names precious metals IRAs. The caveat is that such IRA accounts can only contain specific bullion coins and bars which the IRS has acknowledged, such as the Mexican Silver Libertad. Whichever specific silver coins you buy, your initial purchase must be a minimum amount of $5,000 in silver. Later purchases can be made for as little as a $1,000 minimum.

The Internal Revenue Service mandates certain regulations for holdings of precious metals. They must exhibit a minimum purity standard for the coins to be approved. The Mint of Mexico guarantees that every Mexican Silver Libertad meets these purity level requirements. The IRS also enforces rules about where these IRS coins can be kept. They must be held in depositories that are run by third parties. These depositories work with your IRA administrator to keep all of your silver bullion insured, guarded, and safe. The IRS will allow you to move over your already existing IRA to a new self directed one. This move is known as a roll over. The administrator of your IRA will arrange to purchase these coins on your behalf from a reputable coin dealer when you are ready to give the orders.

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