Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 10 Pesos 2000-2001, KM# 636, Mexico, Third Millennium, Sun Stone
  • 10 Pesos 2000-2001, KM# 636, Mexico, Third Millennium, Sun Stone
Description

Replaced mintage of KM# 616 during 2000 and 2001. In recognition of the new millennium the Mexico City Mint issued a special 2 year type coin for circulation. Design features included a modified reverse date of “AÑO 2000” or “AÑO 2001” and the edge was lettered with the same AÑO and year of issue.

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 symbol of the Mint of Mexico (Mo), at the bottom the mint year. 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
Mo
AÑO 2001

Edge

Translation: Year 2000

AÑO 2000 AÑO 2000 AÑO 2000

10 Pesos

KM# 636 Schön# 236
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Aluminium Bronze
Center Copper Nickel Zinc
Weight 10.329 g
Diameter 28 mm
Thickness 2.4 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Mexican Mint (Mo)

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