By Cory Frampton – Mexican Coin Company/World Numismatics LLC ……
While collecting 20th-century Mexican coins has stagnated somewhat since its peak in the 1960s (at least in the United States), this intriguing field of numismatics still has a lot of promise. There were probably 10 times as many American collectors in the ’60s and ’70s as there are today, mostly due to the demise of Whitman and Dansco coin albums. It was popular in the mid to late 20th century to collect Mexican coins by type or date in an effort to fill up those albums. At that time, not many people were grade conscious and simply attempted to fill the albums with decent-looking coins.
Unfortunately, those VF to AU coins are worth about the same today as they were all those years ago. However, the few collectors who were grade-conscious were richly rewarded. Coins that grade MS65 today sold for slight premiums over their average uncirculated counterparts at that time. It was not until the late 1990s that high-grade, relatively common coins started to bring big premiums.
Today, grading is everything. Slabbing coins became more common in the late ’90s and is now standard practice. The phenomenon of registry sets furthered a market condition whereby a lot of 20th-century Mexican coins that grade below MS63 are deeply discounted and difficult to sell today.
All of these events contributed to changing the 20th-century coinage of Mexico from one of the most collected to one of the weakest market segments. There are definitely exceptions, however, and with the bad news comes a great deal of potential. Approached with some thought, we believe this segment of the Mexican market holds great potential for individuals who are patient and collect with a view toward the long term.
The following are some of our thoughts on several individual areas of 20th-century coinage.
Late Republic Centavos (1899-1905)
This area is still slow in AU and below except for the rare dates. However, in recent years we have seen record prices for the highest graded coins and there is a lot of interest. Better date coins graded MS63 and up are bringing significant premiums over catalog.
Bronze Issues of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Centavos (1905-1935)
Aside from rarities like the 1922 2 centavo and the 1931 5 centavo, this part of the Mexican coin market is pretty much dead below MS63. Examples in MS63 are selling for around two-thirds of catalog uncirculated prices and sell slowly. Coins in MS65 with good eye appeal are saleable at catalog values or higher. We think high-grade, nicely toned coins with good eye appeal are scarcer than people believe and are good value long term. We especially like coins that are a pretty gunmetal color or are full red. With some patience, a set of these in MS65 can be put together at reasonable prices, with the exception of the few really rare dates.
Silver Cap and Ray Issues – 10, 20, 50 Centavos and 1 Peso (1905 Onward)
This segment is much more active, like it should be. Again, with the exception of the rare dates, you can put together a set of these graded MS64 or better at reasonable prices and they are very attractive coins. Catalog prices are both too high and too low. For instance, the 1919 peso catalogs at $950 in uncirculated. We have sold a couple of MS62 pieces in recent years in the $350 range. On the other hand, the 1918 priced in the catalog at $2,500 BU is about right with Gems bringing more. The 1908 50 centavo catalogs at $650 in BU but is bringing closer to $2,000 in Gem.
Caballito Pesos
This segment of the market is very strong in high grade. There are a number of collectors looking for all dates in Gem and prices are rising. Coins in MS65 are bringing well above catalog BU.
Gold Coins – 2, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Pesos (1905-1959)
The market for the lower end of this series (2-10 pesos) is active but not nearly as strong as the 20 and 50 peso segments. The 20 peso series is a lot harder to put together in MS65 than most people think. I know of a number of sets of 50 pesos in MS65 or better; I do not know of a complete set of 20 pesos in MS65. The 50 peso market is fixated on grades from MS65 and up. These Mexican coins sell quickly in the early dates. Coins dated from 1943 to 1947 in MS65 are common. You can put together a set of MS64 coins pretty reasonably.
Visit Mexican Coin Company/World Numismatics LLC at worldnumismatics.com.
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