The coins minted at the Casa de la Moneda de Zacatecas during the reign of Ferdinand VII in the second period between 1813 and 1821 are one of the most fascinating stages of numismatics within the study of this mint, because it had serious difficulties in minting coins, which produced a large number of variants, differences in the busts, legends, mint mark or in the year figures. This mint minted coins with the bust of Ferdinand VII on pieces of ½, 1, 2 and 8 reales.
Although Mexico was already independent in 1821, the director of the Zacatecas Mint, D. Dionisio Sancho, continued to mint coins in the name of Ferdinand VII until 1825, arguing that the urgent need for currency was needed and alluding to the excuse that the dies and matrices of the Republic of Mexico were very defective. According to Dionisio Sancho, the Zacatecas Mint should not mint coins with these dies, as it would be a discredit to the mint.(1).
Although there are many variants of coinage from 1813 onwards, in this article we will only define the main differences between the coins minted in 1821, which were minted with the assayer marks “AZ” or “RG”.
Among the different bust varieties that we can find, the differences in the design of the laurel wreath are particularly noteworthy, which can have 5, 6 or 7 crowns and sometimes we can see coins with punched and repainted busts. All these variants are due to the incorrect position applied to the busts within the die or to retouches in the use of other dies. It must be taken into account that on some occasions, already worn dies were used and that the irregularity of the blanks gave rise to anomalies in the reliefs that were generally due to their ductility, or to the uneven application of pressure on the blanks depending on the operation of the minting machines.
Image 1. 1821. Zacatecas. Assayer AZ. Variant without a dot in front of “HISPAN” and very separate year figures.
1821. ZACATECAS. ASSAYER'S MARKS.
“A·Z”. Agustín Zamora (on 1, 2 and 8 reales coins from 1821)
“R·G”. José Rodríguez Gallinas (on 1/2, 1, 2 and 8 reales coins from 1821)
Variant “A·Z” on “R·G”.
1821. ZACATECAS. BUST VARIANTS.
5 Strawberry trees.AG 5 Strawberry trees.RG 6 Strawberry trees.RG 6 Strawberry trees.RG 7 Strawberry trees.RG 7 Strawberry trees.RG
1821. ZACATECAS. VARIANTS IN THE YEAR.
Large and separate figures Small and together figures Figure “2” rectified on “8”
Another variant is known by the striking of 8 reales from the year 1821 on “1281” with assayer “RG”.
1821. ZACATECAS VARIETIES OF ORDINAL.
Ordinal “VII” with straight base.
Ordinal “VII” with open base and “II” very close together.
Ordinal “VII” with open base and “II” widely separated.
Image 2. 1821. Zacatecas. Assayer RG. Variant “s” between “8” and “R”.
Regarding the variants of legend on the 8 reales of Zacatecas of 1821, we can find some very well-known ones, such as the absence of a period before “HISPAN” (Image 1) or the presence of a period before “HISPAN”. The same applies to the absence of a period after the word “REX”, or the presence of a period after the word “REX·”. There are also some truly rare, curious and highly appreciated by collectors, such as those that affect the numeral and its value in “reales”. The variety is known by the abbreviation “Rs”, with the superscript “s” between the numeral number “8” and the “R” of reales (Image 2).
There is also a coinage known under the name of the mint “Zs” without the “s”, or with the superscript “s” very far from the “Z”.
1821. VARIETIES OF LEGEND ON REVERSE.
With a period in front of the word “HISPAN”.
No period before the word “HISPAN”.
With a period after the word “REX·”.
No period after the word “REX”.
“s” between the numeral “8” and the “R” of reales.
Mint mark “Z” without the “s”.
“Z” mint mark very far from the “s”.
The Zacatecas Mint produced coins regularly over time, even up until Mexico's independence. In 1824, the Constitution of the United Mexican States ratified its non-provisional nature, due to its importance among the Mexican States, and unlike other provisional mints, it remained active throughout the 19th century.
References.
(1) "The Coinage of 8 silver Reales in the name of Ferdinand VII, in the Metropolis and in the Kingdoms of America”. Deana Salmerón, A. p.171.