The State of Morelos issued copper coinage in 1915 under Zapata's Ejército Libertador del Sur as a direct practical necessity — the Constitutionalist government's currency was being refused by Zapatista-controlled villages, and barter alone couldn't sustain a war economy. These coins circulated within a genuinely autonomous zone, accepted not by legal mandate but by the loyalty of the population to the movement itself.
Copper was the material of last resort; silver had largely vanished from rural Morelos by mid-conflict.
The State of Morelos issued copper coinage in 1915 under Zapata's Ejército Libertador del Sur as a direct practical necessity — the Constitutionalist government's currency was being refused by Zapatista-controlled villages, and barter alone couldn't sustain a war economy. These coins circulated within a genuinely autonomous zone, accepted not by legal mandate but by the loyalty of the population to the movement itself.
Copper was the material of last resort; silver had largely vanished from rural Morelos by mid-conflict.