10 Centavos - Maximiliano I

Maximilian I never consolidated monetary control over Mexico with any real consistency. His empire depended on French military backing, and the mint network — inherited from the Republican system — operated under chronic funding pressure throughout his reign. The Mexico City facility struck these pieces alongside larger denominations intended to signal imperial legitimacy to a skeptical population, while Republican forces under Juárez maintained parallel administrations in the north.

Maximilian was executed at Querétaro in June 1867, less than a year after the last of these were struck. French troops had already withdrawn by then, leaving the empire structurally hollow well before the firing squad.