Coin Update News is taking a tour of Baja California, with an eye towards the currency that celebrates the beauty and history of the region.
The first stop of our numismatic tour of Mexico begins in the geographically and culturally diverse state of Baja California. In the year 1539, the Spaniards who arrived at the peninsula were so taken by the beauty of the landscape that they believed they had stumbled upon a fabled island of female warriors described in The Exploits of the Very Powerful Cavalier Esplandian, Son of the Excellent King Amadis of Gau by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo. The beauty of Baja California is why tourism is one of the largest contributors to the state’s economy. This state engulfs the northern half of the Baja peninsula as well as several islands, hence it is often called “Baja California Norte” to distinguish it from its more sparsely populated southern neighbor, Baja California Sur. While its capital city is Mexicali, Baja’s most famous (or infamous) and populated city is Tijuana, with an apropos motto for the commencement of our journey: Aqui empieza la patria (The fatherland begins here).