SHCP Medal. Exposición Presidencial Objetiva (1949)

This medal came from the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (Ministry of Finance) for the Exposición Presidencial Objetiva of 1949, one of those official displays with which the government of the time showed off public works and the achievements of the federal administration.

Those were the years of the so-called Mexican miracle, when the country was growing at a good pace and the State sought to show institutional muscle. The objective expositions served that purpose, to place before the citizen's eye figures, maps, and models of what had been done during the presidential term.

The piece was struck in silver at the Mexico City Mint, the oldest mint in America, founded in 1535. On commemorative medals like this, the Mint left a record of events that today are hard to trace in other sources, which makes them valuable witnesses to mid-20th-century Mexico.

The Exposición Presidencial Objetiva medal, issued by the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público in 1949, is a commemorative silver piece that recalls one of the official events of mid-20th-century Mexico. Struck in a compact module of 27 millimeters and 8.03 grams, it bears the signature of the engraver M. L. N. and combines historical appeal with the value of fine metal.

Because it is silver, its price has a clear floor in the precious-metal content, those 8.03 grams. Above that, what drives it up is condition, how short the issue was, and interest in the subject it commemorates. A piece with no wear, with a natural patina and its original case, is worth considerably more than one that has been mishandled or aggressively cleaned. To identify it, it is best to confirm the metal by weighing it, read the legend referring to the Exposición Presidencial Objetiva, and check that it shows no scratches or recent cleaning.

You can explore more pieces in the Mexican numismatics catalog and learn to read the marks in the guide on how to identify Mexican mints.