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Mexican 50 Pesos

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The Centenario, or more commonly known as the Mexican 50 pesos, is an extraordinary classic gold coin ... read more
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3060,74 €
2829,44 € 7.56%
Delivery via Posti - 12,00 €
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Delivery costs start from 12,00 €
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The photos are used for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product.

Introduction

The Centenario, or more commonly known as the Mexican 50 pesos, is an extraordinary classic gold coin that combines striking artistry with a rich history, while carrying one of the most competitive premiums in the market. Issued for the first time in 1921 by the oldest mint in the Americas, La Casa de Moneda de México (National Mint of Mexico), this coin contains a gold fineness of 0.900 and weighs an impressive 41.6 grams. Embellished with the beautiful allegorical personification of the Greek goddess Nike, and a Golden Eagle, the coat of arms of Mexico, the 50 pesos gold coin is stunning in its appearance.

The design of the coin recounts Mexico’s War of Independence, and embodies the revolutionary ideals that set the stage for the country’s road to self-rule. The Mexican 50 pesos is thus of historical significance, making it an ideal coin for collectors, or for those who seek to acquire a fine-looking gold coin at a favourable price.

Why Buy

  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are unique. Besides exhibiting splendid artistic design and craftsmanship, the Mexican 50 pesos is today the only readily available historical gold coin that weighs a remarkable 1.34 ounces. This hefty gold coin will put a smile on anyone’s face when held.
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are one of the most cost competitive gold coins available. These coins carry one of the lowest premiums in the gold market, a perfect choice for the cost-conscious precious metal stacker
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are a symbol of anti-repression. This coin immortalises Mexico’s War of Independence against Spain that was fought in the 1800s, making it an excellent choice for collectors who cherish this part of history, or for those who lean towards revolutionary ideals.
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are internationally recognised. These coins have a heritage that stretches back more than 500 years and, coupled with their design that exhibits the world-famous Angel of Independence, they are cherished and accepted by bullion dealers and investors worldwide.
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are money. They are exempt from Value Added Tax, and as such are exchangeable throughout Europe by bullion dealers and investors alike.
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are the equivalent of savings. Mexican 50 pesos are an ideal choice for any long-term saver who appreciates the security and stability of owning physical gold coins.
  • Mexican 50 pesos gold coins are an excellent way to diversify your portfolio. Gold’s low correlation with other financial assets makes sovereign gold coins serve as a portfolio hedge against market risk.

Buying gold items means low risks and maintaining wealth

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  • Product value (1pc)
    3060,74 €
  • Buyback price
    2829,44 €
  • Your risk now
    231,30 €

Fact: gold price in EUR has risen 112.41% in the last 8 years. The lowest price was 1011,47 EUR/oz and the highest 2434,57 EUR/oz. Current world market price is 2417,29 EUR/oz

History

The peso – the weight of precious metal

One of the many enchanting aspects of classic gold coins is their captivating history that reveals the past of former civilisations that in some cases stretches back several hundred years. The Centenario is one of these coins, and its two names “the Centenario” and “the Mexican 50 pesos” have each a unique story to tell. The Mexican 50 pesos, the coin’s most common name, derives from the fact that the coin carries on its obverse the denomination “50 pesos”. However, it is the word “peso” that is of particular interest. This Spanish word literally means “weight” and was originally used as a reference to the famous Spanish silver dollar.

The Spanish silver dollar burst upon the world following Spain’s currency reform in 1497, establishing itself as the main trading coin in the Americas and Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. The currency reform that helped make this coin popular included the definition of a silver standard that had the “real” as its unit of account. Each real was equal to 3.195 grams of silver, with the Spanish silver dollar carrying a denomination of 8 reales. This meant that the coin contained a silver fineness of 25.56 grams since it was divisible into eight equal parts (25.56/8 = 3.195), hence this coin was referred to as the “weight of eight” (peso de ocho in Spanish).

A fascinating and key reason why the Spanish 8 real silver dollar was divisible into eight equal weights was because of a particular method of counting. It could be divided into two, four or even eight weights so that Spanish traders could more easily count the currency on their fingers while settling commercial transactions with other traders.  But doesn’t a person have 10 fingers? Well yes, but the Spanish traders decided that thumbs would be used to indicate the total of four fingers. Therefore, the Spanish silver currency was constituted on the base of eight, which meant that the smallest denomination was theoretically 1/8.

An interesting detail is that all major financial exchanges in the United States used the Spanish silver peso system of counting to value securities, bonds and company shares for more than 200 years. In fact, this system of counting in fractions was in place until the year 2000 when all US stock markets switched to the decimal system.

The gold Centenario – a glorious century

The word “Centenario”, which is the official name of this gold coin, is a Spanish adjective that relates to a period of 100 years. The reason it received this name was that it was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mexico’s War of Independence that ended in 1821. It can therefore been seen that the Centenario gold coin embodies the gripping history of this war and gives a tribute to the revolutionary ideals that set in motion the Mexican uprising against its Spanish overlords. Prior to its independence in 1821, Mexico was a colony of Spain and was repeatedly exploited as a source of income by the Spanish crown which levied taxes on the country’s trade and production of goods.

The extraction of wealth continued for 300 years until the early 1800s when the educated Creole population of Mexico began to question their relationship with Spain. The Creoles were Europeans, but mostly of Spanish origin, born in Mexico. Although they were legally equal to Spaniards, they were excluded from holding any higher positions in the church or the state and their commercial activities were likewise heavily restricted. In 1810, the population of Mexico had passed the six million mark, with only 15,000 being Spaniards. In contrast to the Spaniards who enjoyed a lavish life in Mexico, the large majority of the country’s population, especially the indigenous Indians and the local farmers, were poor. That same year, the revenue of Mexico was 24 million pesos, whilst the Royal Treasury in Madrid took 25% of this sum, or 6 million pesos, in tax. “Enough,” said a group of Creole intellectuals who, on 16 September 1810, began Mexico’s revolution for self-rule.

The revolution was headed by the Creole priest Miguel Hidalgo who managed to gather an army of more than 80,000 men. Although a large force, the revolutionary troops was mostly made up of poor Mexicans who had no formal training and were inadequately armed. This became apparent at the Battle of Calderon where 6,000 heavily armed and trained Spanish soldiers defeated Hidalgo’s revolutionary army. Many revolutionaries lost their lives in this battle and Hidalgo himself was captured and executed.

The revolution was stopped dead in its tracks only one year after it had sprung to life. However, in spite of the loss of its leadership and the disintegration of its army, the spirit of the revolution lived on, and by 1821 many loyal Creole monarchists, who had previously upheld the interest of the Spanish crown, switched sides to support an independent Mexico. That same year, the revolution led finally to the proclamation of the sovereign First Mexican Empire. All these events are commemorated in the aptly named Centenario gold coin, which also exhibits the beautiful Angel of Independence, Mexico’s symbol of freedom from Spain.

The Angel of Independence depicted on the Mexican 50 pesos gold coin

One of the key aspects that sets the Mexican 50 pesos apart from other historical gold coins is the beautiful design of the Angel of Independence, also commonly known as Winged Victory.  The Angel of Independence is an allegoric personification of Nike, the goddess from Greek mythology that flew over battlegrounds and rewarded the victors with honour and greatness, symbolised by the wreath of leaves she held in her hands. The depicted Angel of Independence on the obverse of the coin is a miniature replica of the victory column that was constructed in 1910 in Mexico City. The victory column was built to mark the 100th anniversary of the year of Hidalgo’s uprising in 1810. The monument is impressive: the stone column is 36 metres tall and is crowned with the Angel of Independence who clutches a laurel crown and rises almost 7 metres into the sky. The Angel, excluding the stone column, weighs 7 tons and is covered with 24 karat gold. At the base of the stone column is a mausoleum that keeps the remains of several heroes who fought for Mexican Independence, one of them being Hidalgo.

Following Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the New World, the territories of what today is considered Mexico were in the early 1500s absorbed into the Spanish Empire. Spanish settlers soon discovered that Mexico was rich in minerals, especially in silver. With commercial activities growing in Mexico, there was an ever-increasing demand for coinage that would expedite this trade. Considering the abundant supply of silver ore, the logical decision was taken in 1535 to establish a mint in Mexico City. The Mexican mint, which also minted the 50 pesos gold coin, began to strike the Spanish 8 real silver dollar coin in the late 1530s.

Thanks to royal Spanish manuscripts, a great deal is known about how the Mexican mint operated in its founding years. The mint offered refining and assaying services, and the mintage of coins. Whenever merchants were in need of coinage, they turned to the Mexican mint that provided them with coins in exchange for a fee. The transaction between these two parties happened in the following way: either the merchant could bring his own silver, which was then melted, assayed and struck into coins, or he would buy silver bars at the mint’s foundry and have them re-shaped into coins. For example, if the merchant bought the silver at the mint’s foundry, he then had to pay a fee of two reales (2 x 3.195 grams of silver) for every 214 grams of silver he wanted turned into coinage. Thus, the mint’s fee turned out to be approximately 3% of the total weight that was due to be turned into coins.

Almost 35% of this fee went to the supervisors who ran the operation of the mint, 32% went to the mint’s treasury, the coiners received 11%, the assayer and the die-sinkers each received 7%, and the last amount was split between the weigh-master, the secretary, the overheads and the guards.

Once the contract between the mint and merchant was agreed upon, the merchant’s silver was taken into a designated area of the mint where the metal was assayed and rolled into strips. The strips were cut into round planchets that were then weighed to ensure that the weight was correct. Thereafter the planchets went through an annealing process. This means that the coins were heated and cooled at a specific temperature in order to restore the ductility that had been lost when the metal was rolled and cut. Finally, they were placed between two dies (metallic pieces that contained the image to be transferred onto the coin) and were struck with a hammer to produce Spanish silver real coins.

The Mexican mint is today still in operation, making it the oldest mint in the Americas. Besides being responsible for minting Mexico’s circulating coinage, it also produces what many consider to be one of the most beautiful investment-grade bullion coin series, the gold and silver Libertad coins.

Product weight in grams
41.66666
Gold weight in grams
37.5
Fineness
900
Gold weight in troy ounces
1.20565
Diameter
37
Thickness
-
Face value description
50 pesos
Manufacturer
Mexico

Obverse

The obverse portrays the Angel of Independence, a personification of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, standing high in front of the Mexican Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes, holding in her right hand a laurel crown that symbolises victory, and broken chains in her left which symbolise freedom. To the left of the angel is the denomination “50 PESOS” and the year “1821” which marks the date of Mexican Independence. To the right is the gold content “37.5 Gr”, accompanied by the text “ORO PURO”, which translates as “pure gold”, and the date of issue.

Reverse

The reverse depicts the coat of arms of Mexico, a Golden Eagle perched on a cactus devouring a snake. Surrounding the eagle is the text “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS”, which translates as “United States of Mexico”.

Packaging

Each coin is individually packaged in a hard plastic capsule if desired.

Secure and fast delivery by Posti

Your order delivered by Posti and is fully insured. After we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. Delivery time is within 1 or 2 working days. Posti courier will contact you via phone.

Self pick-up

You are welcome to come and collect your products at our office in Helsinki the same day that we have received your payment.

Insurance

The package is fully insured, and in the extremely unlikely case that the package is lost or damaged, we will re-ship the items or refund your money.

Packaging

The products are encased in protective wrapping and placed in a discreet, unbranded padded package.

Shipment tracking

Once the products have been packaged and sent you will receive instructions and a code to track the shipment

Delays

Should a delivery delay occur or if the ordered product is out of stock, we will always contact you by email to give you details about the delivery.

Shipping prices

The shipping charge is 18 euros per 5000 euros insured package, applicable to deliveries within Finland. If you wish to have your products delivered to another country, please contact us on +358 9 68 149 149 or by email at tavex@tavex.fi for prices and terms.

Expected shipping cost

Tavid offers easy and secure shipping for all online orders. Take a look at the expenses.

Vast Stock Availability

The majority of Tavex products are always in stock and therefore Tavex can offer you quick delivery and same day pick-up with market leading prices. Tavex is an official partner of all the biggest mints in the world, such as the Perth Mint Australia, the Austrian Mint (Münze Österreich), China Great Wall Coins Investments Ltd., the gold bar market leader PAMP Suisse and Valcambi and other gold factories and dealers.

Same day pick-up

Feel free to visit our office during opening hours to have a free consultation or learn more about a specific product. If you purchase, online you can pick up the products on the same day we receive the payment.

Low prices

Over 25 years on the market and large volumes have enabled us to offer you the best prices on the market. With Tavex, you can maximise return on your investment because of low margins and spreads.

Item in Stock

This item is in stock and ships right after payment is made and is ready for self-pickup.

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