NEW BOOK: MANIPULATING HISTORY

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 30, 2026, Article 3

Numismatic researcher Ricardo de León Tallavas has published a two-volume work regarding the first issuance of provisional coins minted by the Zacatecas mint - specifically, were coins in the Zacatecas LVO series (1810–1811) insurgent or royalist? The book is in response to the article The First Insurgent Issue: The LVO Series of Zacatecas, 1810–1811, written by Max Keech, published in the March 2021 issue of the journal of the U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association.

Here's an excerpt from the book's Introduction, discussing the first volume. The work is available in both Spanish and English. -Editor

This book is divided into three parts. The first part will establish beyond any doubt how the Zacatecas mint was founded. It will also clarify its operations from that moment until the Crown definitively took control of the city in May of 1811.

In the first part of this work, two opposing premises will be compared, with you serving as the witness, judge and jury. You will deliver the final verdict as you observe them being subjected to the scrutiny of the documents presented by both sides. Are you ready for this task?

It is precisely through the documentary evidence presented by both sides that you will be able to form your own judgment. Then you will understand the veracity of one of these positions. Your verdict will be based on the overwhelming certainty that the rejected point of view on this matter will ultimately be demonstrated as something completely impossible to have occurred. The discarded point will be proven to be false as it cannot be sustained by the shown evidence. It is precisely the comprehensive evidence presented that refutes and dismantles it. This section includes Appendices 1 and 2, as well as the bibliography corresponding to this section.

The second part presents a forced exchange of words between the authors of both positions, in an unusual dialogue that unfolded in an extraordinary manner. This dialog happened through the surprising and questionable intervention of an editor. This dialog will try to affirm are reiterate the wrong premises through the scarce sources presented by its author. These sources will be also shown to be manipulated for one of the two causes.

This section contains an unexpected epilogue that will demonstrate the fundamental flaws inherent in the rejected position, reaffirming the certainty of the correct knowledge. This knowledge is supported by five informative appendices that will be presented to you at the end of this section, Appendices 3 through 7.

To read the both volumes (available as .pdfs in both English and Spanish), see:
Manipulating History (https://sonumex.org.mx/biblioteca.html)