100 Pesos Second Empire Coin

This piece belongs to a commemorative bimetallic series issued by the Casa de Moneda de México honoring the short-lived Mexican Second Empire under Maximilian I, who ruled from 1864 to 1867 at the invitation of Mexican conservatives and with the military backing of Napoleon III. When French troops withdrew under U.S. pressure — the Monroe Doctrine applied directly — Maximilian refused exile and was captured by Juárez's republican forces at Querétaro. He was executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867, ending the empire after fewer than four years.