Mexico City

Justacommeman

In between earthquakes I was able to set aside a little time to decompress with coins and take my mind off of the mayhem in MC. I met up with pruebas at the Bi Annual Mexico City coin show on Friday. I was only able to do a quick walk through this quaint show as my wife was coming in from LA that afternoon. The show didn't yield me any coins but I was able to pick up a cool coffee table book printed in English from the Banco De Mexico. It's actually pretty awesome. Pruebas is a cool dude and it was a pleasure to meet him.

Today I was able to go to the Museo Soumaya with my wife. This in my opinion is one of the coolest museums in the world. They had half of one floor devoted to coins and medals of Mexico. It was pretty comprehensive. Some pictures of the exhibits:

Here are some random pics of the Museo Soumaya.

My wife pictured in the foreground

And of course I had some other non coin favorites. The Thinker with Tracy and also another Rodin piece that I have always thought was insane. Las Tres Sombras.

If you have never been to Mexico City I strongly recommend it. Between the people, culture, food and architecture it maybe my favorite city in the world. I work here 3 weeks of the month and we are contemplating getting a more permanent place here. Some on the neighborhoods have a Greenwich Village feel while others kick Parisian with a Latin flair. A great walking city.

mark

Abuelo

I have been to the Soumaya, great coin display!

TwoKopeiki

Great shots - thank you for sharing them! Sorry to hear that the show was not too productive for you, but it looks like you definitely made up for it with Museo Soumaya!

@pruebas - did you pick-up anything new and exciting at the show?

asheland

Great thread. Looks like a great place to see!

BillDugan1959

I would probably splurge to get a copy of that book, if anybody could direct me to where to go. Amazon didn't work.

As for the sculptor Rodin: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates_of_Hell#

Abuelo

While they like to display their Rodin, the star of the museum is El Puente de San Antonio de Panzacola by J M Velasco. Anyway, I am surprised that the SONUMEX carried out the coin show with the earthquakes. I am sure half the dealers and public just did not show up.

Justacommeman

Gates of Hell. It's displayed right next to The Thinker.

Justacommeman

Bill- the book is great. I spotted it as soon as I walked in. Pruebus sets up directly next to the book dealer. He maybe able to help you. It's got great pics and lots of text. It comes with cardboard protector as well. Photo below. Looks to be published right from the bank

mark

pruebas

@BillDugan1959 said:
I would probably splurge to get a copy of that book, if anybody could direct me to where to go. Amazon didn't work.

Bill, the book is long out of print and the print run in English was much smaller than the print run in Spanish.

I've sent a text to the book dealer (who is a good friend) and he is going to look for another copy for you.

Just so you don't have sticker shock, I think it's about US$100.

pruebas

@Abuelo said:
While they like to display their Rodin, the star of the museum is El Puente de San Antonio de Panzacola by J M Velasco. Anyway, I am surprised that the SONUMEX carried out the coin show with the earthquakes. I am sure half the dealers and public just did not show up.

There were differing opinions by the SONUMEX board on whether or not to cancel the show. But ultimately there really was no good reason to do so. The host hotel was open and undamaged (though I did spot a few cracks which were repaired by Friday). Transportation was working with most roads open in the area (and the Metro was free). And dealers already had travel plans or were already there.

The biggest fear was that an aftershock might occur, or another full quake. But the probability of that is roughly the same as a quake at any time in DF.

Dealer attendance was about 3/4 of normal, and part of that was due to a death in the family of one of the dealers. The biggest empty table was the Casa de Moneda of Mexico, which didn't show.

Buyer attendance (this includes both collectors and resellers) was about 2/3 of normal. My sales reflected that.

One gringo dealer reported his best show ever! So those who attended did business.

BillDugan1959

@pruebas said:

@BillDugan1959 said:
I would probably splurge to get a copy of that book, if anybody could direct me to where to go. Amazon didn't work.

Bill, the book is long out of print and the print run in English was much smaller than the print run in Spanish.

I've sent a text to the book dealer (who is a good friend) and he is going to look for another copy for you.

Just so you don't have sticker shock, I think it's about US$100.

This would be wonderful and is much appreciated.

asheland

Indeed that looks like a cool book.

Elmhurst

Much nicer operation than the Museo Numismatico in Montevideo.

Abuelo

@pruebas thanks for the update!