Index » Mexican Coins
Here you can find out everything you need to know about Mexican coins in circulation, Mexican gold coins, Mexican silver coins and more.
Note: the name of the Mexican currency is Peso; the code is MXN; the subunit is centavo; the symbol for the Peso is $ or Mex$ and the symbol for the centavo is "¢".
The first coin in Mexico was one centavo pieces minted in 1863.
Between 1864 and 1867 the Emperor Maximilian who was the ruler of the Second Mexican Empire minted the first coins with the legend "peso" on them.
After the fall of the Maximilian the New Mexican republic introduced (in addition to copper one centavo coins) the Mexican silver coins of 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos, and one silver peso coins. All of the Mexican silver coins were .903 fineness.
In 1905 the first major monetary reform in Mexico was carried out in which the gold content of the pesos was reduced by 49.4% and the silver coins were reduced to token issues (with the exception of the one peso coin).
In 1910 one of the most beautiful Mexican silver coins was issued - the Caballito coin. This .093 silver coin is considered to be a true silver peace of the Mexican culture and heritage. During the period between 1917 and 1993 there were many changes in the Mexican society which reflected on the coin changes as well.
In 1993 the Bank of Mexico launched the "Nuevo Peso" ($1 New Peso was equal to $1000 of the old ones). Coins of the new Mexican currency were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Nuevos pesos.
In 2003 the new series of bimetallic coins was introduced by the Mexican bank - the $100 coins. Even though these coins are impressive they are not commonly used due to their high cost.
Interesting fact about the present Mexican coins is that the 20 and 50 peso coins are the only currently circulating coinage in the world to contain any silver.
Commonly used coins in circulation nowadays are: 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10; the rarely used coins are: 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, $20, $50, $100.
Gold is the inseparable part of the Mexican culture, history and heritage.
The people of the Mayan and Aztec empires built powerful ancient cities and amazing temples that were decorated with gold. There was so much gold in ancient pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (present Mexico) that the Spanish conquistadors though they have found the El Dorado.
With the birth of the Mexican nation the first Mexican gold coins were issued and ever since then the gold coins are present in Mexican culture.
One of many examples of how deeply the gold coins are incorporated into the Mexican culture is the Mexican wedding tradition called 13 Gold Coins.
During the wedding ceremony the groom gives to his bride the 13 gold coins that represent everything material that he has. With this gesture he is showing her how much he trusts her. By accepting the 13 gold coins the bride promises to take good care of her husband and his wealth.
Nowadays there is a big demand for the Mexican gold coins. In fact the Mexican gold coins are one of the most popular in the world.
Mexican silver coins are also part of the Mexican culture and heritage because the silver coins have been around in Mexico for very long time, and some of the most beautiful and definitively the largest Mexican coins are made of silver.
Due to inflationary pressure and the continuous fall in the value of the Mexican currency, many investors switched their investment to investing in convertible silver and gold coins.
The adoption of the silver and gold coins was capitalized in 1921 as a remembrance for the 100th Anniversary of Mexico�s independence from the colonial rule of the Spanish.
It is postulated that the value of the coins will vary depending on the value of gold on a given day as well as the type of coins one buys.
Even though the economy was struggling and the prices of stock declining value Mexican gold coin is a prudent investment due to the continuous increase in the Mexican coin values.
Defining the coin value starts with the understanding the diversity and clearly defined differences between the coins.
The valuation of the coins is also dependent upon the kind of coin under consideration, the scarcity of the type of the coin, the demand for the coins, the quantity of the coins currently available and the current market value of gold.
Moreover the value of the coins is also embedded in the carat composition of the coin they sometimes use the percentage composition or the weight of the coin.
Coins that weighs much, shows that they have higher carat composition especially gold bullions.
The composition begins with one of a twentieth ounce to five ounce, but most coins range around one ounce.
Value is also affected by grade and circulation, coins in circulation are valued less because they are assumed to have been damaged or worn out as they had exchanged many hands.
Due to improvements in technology, the coins can be easily valued online by just entering the code name of the coin. The code names include; escudos, 2 escudos, 4 escudos, 8 escudos, and half escudos.