Maximilian's empire was already collapsing when this coin was struck. French troops — the military backbone of his regime — were withdrawing under pressure from the United States invoking the Monroe Doctrine, and Juárez's republican forces were retaking territory faster than the imperial treasury could respond. The 1866 coinage was minted nonetheless, partly as an act of political insistence.
Maximilian was executed at Querétaro in June 1867. Coins from his final minting years circulated briefly under a government that no longer existed.
Maximilian's empire was already collapsing when this coin was struck. French troops — the military backbone of his regime — were withdrawing under pressure from the United States invoking the Monroe Doctrine, and Juárez's republican forces were retaking territory faster than the imperial treasury could respond. The 1866 coinage was minted nonetheless, partly as an act of political insistence.
Maximilian was executed at Querétaro in June 1867. Coins from his final minting years circulated briefly under a government that no longer existed.