2 Pesos Suriana

Reverse

Sun over mountains surrounded by legend.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
"REFORMA, LIBERTAD, JUSTICIA Y LEY"
*SURIANA.

Edge

Reeded

Comment

The Suriana 2 pesos issue has long been regarded as one of the key coins of the popular and challenging Mexican Revolution coinage. When originally published by Sanchez Garza (page "Historical Notes on coins of the Mexican Revolution", 1932), the issue (catalogued as No. 81a) warranted the following comment: "This rare piece was struck at a mining camp called Suriana, located in the state of Guerrero very close to Campo Morado, and operated by the Peñoles Mining Company. It is said that only a small number were made. There is only one specimen in this city (Mexico City) and belongs to the Alvarez Martinez collection, but I understand that there are three specimens in the U. S." Likewise, the first public offering (the example from the Muirhead collection, Glendining's 3/1936, lot 25) was described as "extremely rare". Its status as a key rarity of the entire Mexican Revolution coinage has hardly diminished since, its rarity having hardly evolved - less than ten examples of the present reeded-edge variety have been confirmed. Indeed, although a handful of issues may actually be rarer, yet none - save perhaps for the gold Oaxaca 60 Pesos 1916 - are arguably as iconic, nor more desirable amongst the collector community.

The reverse inscription "Oro 0,595" refers to the purported actual gold content in grams, instead of the fineness (as per the KM description) (cf. Eguia, Bernardo: "Oro en Monedas Revolucionarias" in Boletin de la Sociedad Numismatica de Mexico, No. 10, January-March 1956). This is in line with the study "Los Criaderos Minerales de Campo Morado y La Suriana" (Mexico, 1918) by geologist Teodoro Flores.

Interesting fact