Aztec Calendar 5 oz Silver Round (New)

Five Ounces for the Sun Stone

The Aztec Calendar 5 oz Silver Round puts the Aztec Sun Stone on five troy ounces of .999 fine silver, with a portrait of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor, on the other side. It is struck by Golden State Mint. Five ounces of room is what the design needs: at this size the rings of glyphs separate cleanly instead of running together.

 

The Stone Behind the Design

The real Sun Stone is a basalt disc about 3.6 metres across and close to 25 tonnes, carved by the Mexica sometime between 1502 and 1521. Buried in Mexico City’s main square after the Spanish conquest, it was dug up in December 1790 and has stood in the National Museum of Anthropology since 1964. Not a working calendar, despite the name: it carries calendar glyphs, but archaeologists at that museum think it more likely served as a ceremonial basin or altar.

 

Reading the Rings

Every ring of the stone is on the round. At the center is a face usually identified as the sun god Tonatiuh, set inside the glyph for Ollin, movement, the name of the current era. Four square panels around it stand for the four earlier suns, or eras, that came before. The next ring holds the signs for the 20 days of the Aztec calendar, and around the outer edge two fire serpents, the Xiuhcoatl, curl toward each other and meet at the base. The fire serpents frame everything, their flame crests and segmented bodies struck in separate raised lines.

 

Cuauhtémoc on the Other Side

The second face carries a left-facing portrait of Cuauhtémoc in a feathered headdress, his name in small capitals beneath it. Cuauhtémoc ruled Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, the last emperor before the Spanish conquest, and his name means “one who has descended like an eagle.” FIVE TROY OUNCES and .999 FINE SILVER run around him inside a stepped fret border. Cuauhtémoc and the Sun Stone together make the round a tribute to the Mexica world rather than to any modern state.

 

A Round, Not a Coin

This is a privately minted round. No government issues it and no denomination appears on it, so its value rests on its five ounces of silver, with the design as the reason to choose it over a plain round. Five ounces in one piece also means fewer pieces to store, at the cost of selling in five-ounce steps.

 

Aztec Calendar 5 oz Silver Round Specifications

Each round holds five troy ounces of .999 fine silver and has a reeded edge. Five troy ounces, .999 fine, struck by Golden State Mint. Diameter, thickness and condition are on the Specifications tab above.

 

Aztec Calendar 5 oz Round FAQ

 

Is the Aztec Calendar actually a calendar?

Not in a working sense. The Sun Stone uses the glyphs of the Aztec calendar, including the 20 day signs, but archaeologists at Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology believe it was more likely a ceremonial basin or altar.

 

Who is the man on the round?

Cuauhtémoc, ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521 and the last Aztec emperor. His name is struck beneath the portrait.

 

Who makes the Aztec Calendar 5 oz round?

Golden State Mint, which strikes the Aztec Calendar design in several sizes and metals.

 

Is the Aztec Calendar round a coin?

No. It is a privately minted round with no denomination, valued by its silver content.

 

Is the Aztec Calendar 5 oz round IRA eligible?

Yes. At .999 fine silver, it meets the purity requirement for silver held in a precious metals IRA.

 

Want the same design in a smaller size? See the Aztec Calendar 1 oz Silver Round.

 

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