My World Crown Affair
19th Cent, Mexico Hookneck 8 reales

Owner Comments:

As you can see in this section of my set, most of the nations to emerge from under Spanish rule in the Americas continued to issue 8 reales under their own authority. The initial design from the First Mexican Republic featured the eagle in profile, called the "hookneck" for the distinctive arch of the eagle's neck as it grips a snake while perched on a cactus on a rock in a lake is based on the legend of the founding of Tenochtitlan. The common nickname for the larger series "Cap and Rays" comes from the reverse design with its Phrygian cap, a symbol of freedom and the pursuit of liberty, over a background of rays of light.