A los Héroes de la Patria Medal (1828)

Medal To the Heroes of the Homeland, struck in 1828, a piece of civic tone that pays tribute to the founding figures of the Independence of Mexico.

Toward the end of the 1820s, with Iturbide's empire already behind and the Republic underway, the cult of the insurgent heroes began to take hold: Hidalgo, Morelos, Allende, and the other leaders who started and sustained the struggle from 1810. Civic medals helped fix that patriotic pantheon in the collective memory.

This silver piece is part of that early effort to build a national identity out of the independence struggle. It reflects how the young Mexican state sought common roots and symbols in the figures that gave it its origin.

What it shows

On the reverse, the one nearly everyone looks for, runs the legend engraved across several lines: EL ESTADO LIB. DE S. LUIS POTOSI EN MEMORIA DE LOS HÉROES DE LA PATRIA A. 1828, with a motif of crossed pieces above and a small star at the foot. The obverse carries the legend MÉXICO LIBRE along the upper rim and a seated female figure, an allegory of the Republic, with the Phrygian cap of liberty. The engraving is worn, with the silver rubbed and some patina, a sign that the piece circulated and was handled over generations.

Context

It is a proclamation medal struck in 1828 by the Free State of San Luis Potosí to honor the heroes of Independence. It belongs to the first generation of medals of the young Mexican Republic, when each state celebrated the newly born nation with its own pieces. Documented examples are known from Mexican numismatic auctions.

Value and collecting

It is not legal-tender currency, nor ever was: it is a commemorative medal, and its price is set by the state of preservation and the silver content, not by an official table. To know what it sells for today it is worth comparing real examples in the shops directory and settling authenticity questions in the forum.