Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 10 Pesos 1997-2023, KM# 616, Mexico
  • 10 Pesos 1997-2023, KM# 616, Mexico
  • 10 Pesos 1997-2023, KM# 616, Mexico, Norman (left) and inverted beading (right)
Description

In 2007 an unknown number of coins were minted with an error called "inverted beading" (grafila invertida) which means the L-shaped beads or denticles around the border of the coin are facing right, not left, as is normal.

Obverse

Depicts the seal of the United Mexican States.

The Seal of the United Mexican States is a modified version of the national coat of arms, with the addition of the full official name of the country Estados Unidos Mexicanos, in a semi-circular accommodation in the upper part of the seal. Current and past Mexican peso coinage have had the seal engraved on the obverse of all denominations.

The coat of arms depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. To the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to the Europeans, it would come to symbolize the triumph of good over evil (with the snake sometimes representative of the serpent in the Garden of Eden).

ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS

Reverse

In the center, the circle of the Sun Stone representing Tonatiuh with the fire mask. In the peripheral ring, top center the value; to the left the mint year, and to the right the symbol of the Mint of Mexico Mo; at the bottom, the inscription. The frame is smooth with an uneven edge.

The Sun Stone, Stone of the Five Eras, or sometimes (erroneously) called Aztec calendar stone is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Aztec sculpture. The stone is 358 centimetres (11.75 ft) in diameter and 98 centimetres (3.22 ft) thick, and it weighs about 24 tons. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the Zócalo, or main square of Mexico City. It was rediscovered on December 17, 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral. Following its rediscovery, the calendar stone was mounted on an exterior wall of the Cathedral, where it remained until 1885. Most scholars think that the stone was carved some time between 1502 and 1521, though some believe that it is several decades older than that.

In the center of the monolith is the face of the solar deity, Tonatiuh, which appears inside the glyph for "movement" (Nahuatl: Ōllin), the name of the current era. The central figure is shown holding a human heart in each of his clawed hands, and his tongue is represented by a stone sacrificial knife (Tecpatl).

In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky.

$10
2008 Mo
DIEZ PESOS

Edge

10 Pesos

KM# 616 Schön# 180a
Characteristics
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Aluminium Bronze
Center Copper Nickel Zinc
Weight 10.329 g
Diameter 28 mm
Thickness 2.3 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Mexican Mint (Mo)

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