Emperor Maximilian’s Final Request Involved Gold Coins

Last month I walked through the halls of Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. Portraits of Maximilian and his wife Carlota still hang in the rooms where they once lived. Standing there brought to mind two coins we are offering this August in our Summer Global Showcase Auction.

MEXICO. 20 Pesos, 1866 Mo. Mexico City Mint. Maximilian I. NGC AU 55

MEXICO. Peso, 1866 Pi. San Luis Potosí Mint. Maximilian I. NGC MS 61

Both coins were struck during Maximilian’s brief reign in Mexico (1864 – 1867). Seeing where he once ruled, and understanding the history behind these coins, gives a deeper appreciation for them.

Maximilian’s story ended on June 19, 1867, when he was executed by a firing squad. But to understand how he got there, we have to go back to the Jecker Bonds scandal. Mexico had suspended payments on foreign loans, and Napoleon III of France saw an opportunity. With the United States caught in a civil war, Napolean used the so-called Jecker Bonds as his way to begin French intervention in Mexico.

Napoleon offered Austrian Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg the throne of Mexico, promising support and popular backing. The idea of ruling a modern empire appealed to Maximilian and in 1864, he accepted and moved into Chapultepec Castle under French protection. Meanwhile, Benito Juárez, the constitutional president, refused to recognize Maximilian’s regime. Juárez was exiled into New Orleans, but he continued to organize resistance.

After the United States Civil War ended, everything shifted. The U.S. government reasserted the Monroe Doctrine and pressured France to withdraw. By 1866 the French had withdrawn, but Maximilian chose to remain in Mexico, giving Juárez the opening he needed to reclaim control of the country. Maximilian was captured, tried, and sentenced to death. History records his last words in Spanish as:

“Mexicans. I die for a just cause. The independence and freedom of Mexico. May my blood be the last to be shed for the good of this country. Viva México.” He then pointed to his chest and said, “Aim well. Fire here.”

According to historical accounts, Maximilian handed each soldier in the firing squad a 20 Pesos gold coin and asked them not to shoot him in the head, hoping that his mother would be able to see his face one last time.

Now, 158 years later, his coins are still with us. They remain as historical reminders of Mexico’s brief Second Empire 1864 – 1867.

Knowing the full story, and having stood in the place where it began, made the short-lived Maximilian coin series come to life for me. If you are interested in owning one of these historic pieces, they will be available in our Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction.

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