Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público Medal (1956)

This large-format silver medal corresponds to the exhibitions of the Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico of 1956, following the department's custom of issuing commemorative pieces for its official shows.

In those years Mexico was in full economic expansion, and Hacienda, as the office responsible for public finances, used these exhibitions to present figures, works and achievements of the federal administration. The series of Hacienda exhibition medals is one of the most consistent in official Mexican medallic art.

Cataloged by Grove as E-246a, the piece was struck at the Mexico City Mint, which reports to the department itself. Its module close to fifty millimeters and its considerable weight place it among the table medals, intended for institutional display rather than for wear.

The Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público medal, struck in 1956, is a silver piece that celebrates one of the oldest and most central institutions in Mexico's economic life. With nearly 64 grams of precious metal, it combines the symbolic weight of the public treasury with the appeal of numismatic collecting.

It is made of silver, measures 49.87 millimeters in diameter, and weighs 63.46 grams. Because it is a silver medal, its value has a clear floor: the fine metal content. Above that, what drives the price up is the condition, how small the issue was, and interest in the subject it commemorates. A piece with no wear and its original case is worth considerably more than one that has been mishandled.

How to identify and value this medal

1. Confirm the metal. It is silver; weigh it to estimate its fine metal content.
2. Read the legend and the motif. It commemorates the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, which defines its historical interest.
3. Check the condition. No scratches or harsh cleaning, with natural patina.
4. Look for the case and the certificate if it had them: 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. For the collector, this medal is cataloged as Grove, Medals of México, II #E-246a.