Quick Coinage Facts
Years Minted: 1918-20, 1944-48
Composition: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Diameter: 15.5 mm
Weight: 2.0833 grams (.0603 ounces of gold)
Total Series Mintage: 3,745,000 (approximate)
Obverse Design: National Arms
Reverse Design: Bust Design
Introduction
The 2 1/2 pesos gold coin was briefly issued from 1918 to 1920 and reissued from 1944 to 1948. The 2 1/2 pesos gold coin was issued for circulation using the bust image of Independence War hero Hidalgo.
Design
The obverse design features the Mexican coat of arms, an eagle clutching a snake while it perches on a prickly pear cactus. On the outer periphery is the phrase “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS” or as translated to english “United Mexican States”.
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The reverse design features a bust image of Hidalgo facing left. On the outer periphery is the denomination “DOS Y MEDIO PESOS” and year of issue. Interestingly it does not carry the familiar mint mark “Mo” for the Mexico City Mint.
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General Market Notes
The key to the series is the 1947 issue with a mintage of only 24,000. Additionally, according to Krause Publications, from 1951 to 1972 a total of 5,025,087 pieces were restruck with the date 1945[1].