With the popularity of gold bullion coins growing after the US legalized gold ownership in 1975, numerous countries rushed to supply the investor demand that had been pent up. Among them was Mexico, which began minting its gold Libertad bullion coins in 1981.
Mexico has long been a source for precious metals from its mines, and the Libertad bullion coins provide a natural outlet for all the gold mined in the country. Overall Mexico is the world’s 8th-largest gold producer.
The gold Libertad coins feature the Mexican coat of arms surrounded by historical Mexican coats of arms on the obverse of the coin. The reverse features an image of the winged victory statue from the Mexican Independence Victory Column.
The gold Libertad coins are available in weights of 1 ounce, ½ ounce, ¼ ounce, 1/10 ounce, and 1/20 ounce. As with most gold bullion coins, premiums are greater on the smaller coins. Expect to pay premiums of about 7% for the 1 ounce coins, 9% on 1/2-ounce coins, 15% on 1/4-ounce coins, 30% on 1/10-ounce coins, and 50% on 1/20-ounce coins.
Mexican gold Libertads minted from 1981 to 1988 were minted from .900 fine gold, making them ineligible for investment through a gold IRA. But gold Libertads minted after 1991 were minted from .999 fine gold, making them eligible for investment through a gold IRA or precious metals IRA. That allows investors to invest in gold coins and defer taxation on their gain in value until it comes time to take a distribution. Investors can gain all the benefits of investing in gold while still maintaining the tax advantages of a traditional IRA.
Coin Specifications
Purity (Post-1991)
99.9% gold
Weight (Post-1991)
- 1 ounce: 1 troy ounce
- ½ ounce: 0.5 troy ounces
- ¼ ounce: 0.25 troy ounces
- 1/10 ounce: 0.10 troy ounces
- 1/20 ounce: 0.05 troy ounces
Gold Content
- 1 ounce: 1 troy ounce
- ½ ounce: 0.5 troy ounces
- ¼ ounce: 0.25 troy ounces
- 1/10 ounce: 0.10 troy ounces
- 1/20 ounce: 0.05 troy ounces
Diameter
- 1 ounce: 34.5 mm
- ½ ounce: 29 mm
- ¼ ounce: 23 mm
- 1/10 ounce: 16 mm
- 1/20 ounce: 13 mm
Thickness
- 1 ounce: 2.1 mm
- ½ ounce: 1.75 mm
- ¼ ounce: 1.4 mm
- 1/10 ounce: 1.0 mm
- 1/20 ounce: 0.83 mm
Image: CoinInvest GmbH via Wikipedia