Quick Coinage Facts
Years Minted: 1950, 1951
Composition: 30% Silver
Diameter: 26 mm
Weight: 6.66 grams (.0642 ounces of silver)
Total Series Mintage: 17,220,000
1950 – 13,570,000
1966 – 3,650,000
Obverse Design: National Arms
Reverse Design: Bust Design
Introduction
In 1945 the Mexico City Mint produced its last 50 Centavos Cap & Ray coin. 50 centavo coinage would finally be re-introduced in 1950 but with a new design, slightly smaller and much lower silver content (30% versus 72.5%).
Unfortunately the new design did not circulate well and the series quickly ended in 1951 making this a two year only type coin.
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”.
The reverse design features the Aztec King Cuauhtemoc. He took power of the Aztec nation in 1520 at a time when the Spanish invaders brought war and disease to the Aztec peoples. He was ultimately captured and tortured by the Spanish explorer Cortez looking for hidden treasures of the Aztecs.
To the right of the bust design is an Aztec eagle which symbolically represents the founding of Mexico City. Just below the eagle is the denomination “50 Cs” and above is the mint mark for the Mexico City Mint “Mo”.
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General Market Notes
Coins were saved in large enough numbers to keep this an affordable coin for both years in high grades.