Medal Trial Strike

This piece is a medal trial, that is, a striking test used to verify the design, the die, and the finish before producing the definitive issue. Trials allow the workshops to fine-tune technical details and are pieces of great interest for the study of the minting process.

Classified by Grove among the merit issues, this trial shows the preliminary work behind every finished medal. Its reduced weight relative to its diameter suggests it is a trial in a light metal to test the die.

Struck in brass, it has no recorded year. Its value lies in its character as a technical trial: this kind of test is prized by collectors because it reveals the experimental stage of the manufacturing process, rarely visible in circulation or award pieces.

The "Prueba de medalla" medal is a Mexican commemorative piece struck in brass, whose interest to the collector arises from the subject it celebrates and not from the metal itself. At 45.05 millimeters in diameter and 7.39 grams, it belongs to the era of the historical medals of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period much prized by those who specialize in commemorative-themed numismatics.

Being a brass medal, its value does not come from the metallic content but from what it represents: the event it commemorates, its age, and demand among collectors of the subject. Condition and the rarity of the issue are what ultimately set the price. To value it, it helps to confirm the metal, read the legend and the motif, check the condition with no scratches or aggressive cleaning and with natural patina, and look for the original case or certificate if it had them, since they add collector value.

Explore more pieces in the Mexican numismatics catalog and learn to read the marks in the guide on how to identify Mexican mints. Its catalog reference is Grove, Medals of México, II #P-150.