This small (81 pages) but valuable paperback work was privately published in 1968 and is limited to 500 copies. It added to the efforts began by Howland Wood and J. Sanchez Garza some four decades earlier and continued by Neil Utberg in 1965. It is a well thought out and serious effort to organize the various Types and Styles of the denominations coined in certain areas of Mexico – namely the States of Guerrero, Mexico, and Morelos, as well as the Federal District of Mexico during Mexico’s 20th Century Revolution – while under control of Zapata’s forces, i.e., Zapatistas. The classification guide was so successful that even today serious collectors continue utilize the Leslie-Stevens attribution system to track those coins as they attempt to complete all or part of the series.
In the Preface we learn that the authors emphasized they were not attempting to write or rewrite the history of the Revolution. They simply pointed out what all serious students already knew; with regard to that turbulent era in Mexico’s history it was and remains, in many cases, a difficult task to separate fact from fiction. So rather than debate the issue of whether or not all the coinage of those areas should have been considered as being produced under the authority of Zapata they simply chose to “make the study all-inclusive of the territory where the Zapata forces were in control at one time or another” leaving the simplification of the Revolutionary intricacies to others.
The acknowledgement list reads like a who’s who of Mexican Numismatics and included, but was not limited to such notables as; Edwin Beals, Arthur Blase, Jr., Merrill Bothamley, Theodore V. Buttrey, Harvey Bruns, Frederico Claveria, Henry Christensen, Carlos Gaytán, Clyde Hubbard, Ben Nibert, Pat Pace, Jess Peters, A. F. Pradeau, Hans Schulman, Neil Utberg, Vern Walfaren, Patrick Zabel and Randolf Zanders. That partial list gives us some idea of how valuable numismatists thought the guide would be.
The authors begin the book by providing the student with a conversion chart that equates the Wood-Garza Numbers to the Leslie-Stevens Numbers thus making it easier to compare the two systems. They continue by explaining their attribution system, which is a combination alphanumeric arrangement beginning with three Upper Case letters such as GRO for Guerrero. Then one or two digits (ascending order) are utilized, to identify a specific coin. In addition, if necessary, lower case letters are added to point out a die variety (a through u), an edge variety (v), a planchet or metal wash variety (w), a metal variety (x), or a poor alloy of metals (z). Their Rarity Scale spans Common (C) to Exceptionally Rare/Unique (R-5). They also provide their estimate of the 1967-68 market value based on the Rarity. It is interesting to note that of the 148 DAMs and/or Varieties listed, they consider 20 to be Common while 13 have an R-5 rating.
Every issue is illustrated. The authors chose to use line drawings because they felt that certain characteristics could better be shown using those illustrations instead of photographs. We heartily concur with their decision as many of those issues are so crude-worn that unless photos are of exceptional definition/quality (read expensive to produce and publish) they are all but useless.
Following the basic listings, a Comparison Chart is provided so that the collector may attribute the Obverse and Reverse die pairings. And last but not least there is a Check List to help the collector track acquisitions.
We suggest that if anyone has an interest in the Coinage of Zapata this is a book that should be in that collector’s library.
[Home Page] Return to Mexican Coin Magic Home Page