Mexican Coins

Mexican coins originally consisted primarily of Spanish-issued colonial eight reales, or Spanish dollars. Aficionados of pirates in popular culture may know these coins as the famous pieces of eight. Mexico eventually adopted both the real and the decimal-based peso, minting coins in both denominations concurrently until 1897, when the government discontinued the real.

One of the distinguishing features of Mexican coins is the intricately detailed coat of arms featured on the obverse. Originally appearing in 1910 and then sporadically in the years following the official coat of arms of Mexico features an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. The current issue of coins, which began in 1992, restored the heraldic coat of arms to the obverse of Mexican coins. Other obverse designs throughout Mexican history have included the last emperor of the Aztecs, a liberty cap design, and several famous Mexican leaders.

The Mexican bank has recently begun issuing bimetallic commemorative 100- peso coins featuring the coats of arms of each Mexico's component states on the reverse and the national coat of arms on the obverse. There are 32 different coins in this series representing each of Mexico's 31 states and federal district. Unlike the state quarter run in the United States, these coins have been unpopular with Mexican collectors due to their high face value.

Quick Facts

• Pesos were recognized as legal tender anywhere in the United States until 1857. Some border regions still accept pesos as currency today
• One of three surviving 1538 Mexican eight reales sold at auction for $587,500 in 2014. The three coins were recovered from a Spanish shipwreck known as the Golden Fleece
• The bimetallic $100 state series also has a bullion variant where the aluminum- bronze outer ring is replaced with gold