Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 50 Centavos 2009-2023, KM# 936, Mexico
  • 50 Centavos 2009-2023, KM# 936, Mexico
Description

50 Centavos coins are minted over the punched-out cores of the rings used to make the 5 Peso coins (KM# 605), which was the main reason for the change in size and material (to use the cores instead of remelting them).

Obverse

Depicts the seal of the United Mexican States.

The Seal of the United Mexican States is a modified version of the national coat of arms, with the addition of the full official name of the country Estados Unidos Mexicanos, in a semi-circular accommodation in the upper part of the seal. Current and past Mexican peso coinage have had the seal engraved on the obverse of all denominations.

The coat of arms depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. To the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to the Europeans, it would come to symbolize the triumph of good over evil (with the snake sometimes representative of the serpent in the Garden of Eden).

ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS

Reverse

Depicts the denomination in the centre with the date above and the mintmark below and a partial border of the stylized designs from the Ring of Acceptance (Anillo de la Aceptación; a representation of the god’s acceptance of sacrifice) on the Aztec calendar stone (Piedra del Sol).

The Sun Stone, Stone of the Five Eras, or sometimes (erroneously) called Aztec calendar stone is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Aztec sculpture. The stone is 358 centimetres (11.75 ft) in diameter and 98 centimetres (3.22 ft) thick, and it weighs about 24 tons. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the Zócalo, or main square of Mexico City. It was rediscovered on December 17, 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral. Following its rediscovery, the calendar stone was mounted on an exterior wall of the Cathedral, where it remained until 1885. Most scholars think that the stone was carved some time between 1502 and 1521, though some believe that it is several decades older than that.

2017
50¢
Mo

Edge

50 Centavos

Small Type
KM# 936 Schön# 462
Characteristics
Material Stainless Steel
Weight 3.103 g
Diameter 17 mm
Thickness 2.15 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Mexican Mint (Mo)

Related coins

Cupronickel, 6.5 g, ⌀ 25 mm
Large Type

Aluminium Bronze, 4.39 g, ⌀ 22 mm