An Austrian archduke and younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, he accepted the crown of Mexico in 1864 — and three years later faced a firing squad. Emperor Maximilian I on horseback, with the cathedral of Mexico City behind him, is the design of this 1991 Cook Islands silver 50 dollars.

The throne was offered by Mexican conservatives defeated in the civil war, with military backing promised by Napoleon III. Yet Maximilian, to his supporters’ dismay, pursued liberal reforms, while Benito Juárez’s republican government never recognised him. Once French troops began withdrawing in 1866 the empire collapsed: Maximilian was captured at Querétaro in May 1867 and shot on 19 June.

The cathedral in the background took almost two and a half centuries to build, from 1573 to 1813, on the site of the Aztec sacred precinct. The edge links both themes: «EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN AND CATHEDRAL IN MEXICO CITY».

The obverse carries Raphael Maklouf’s portrait of Elizabeth II. An equestrian portrait like this is a find for a collection of monarchs on coins or of Mexican history. In proof quality the mirror field contrasts with the frosted relief of rider and cathedral.

The VPcoins catalogue includes both modern commemorative issues and coins of past eras.