Mexico 5, 10, and 20 Pesos 1870 to 1905

Congratulations, Liz, on a valuable coin. Assuming your coin is genuine, and not one produced by the many modern counterfeiters, these old gold coins from Mexico carry hefty gold value as well as strong value from scarcity and collector appeal.

(Note: If you think your coin might be a fake, there is a good chance you are correct. Over the past 10 years or more, counterfeiting of rare coins has skyrocketed. Write to CoinQuest or submit your coin to one of the respected authenticators: PCGS, ICG, NGC, ANACS. Do not use other services.)

CoinQuest thanks MrPotatoHeadd, who is one of our favorite eBay sellers, for use of this coin image. It's a beauty!

The CINCO (5), DIEZ (10), and VEINTE (20) gold pesos all look the same, but their size and gold content is different. Here is a run-down:

CINCO PESOS: 21 mm diameter, 0.238 troy ounces gold
DIEZ PESOS: 28 mm diameter, 0.476 troy ounces gold
VEINTE PESOS: 33 mm diameter, 0.952 troy ounces gold

Evaluate these coins in two steps. First compute the basic value due to gold content alone. To do this, go to a precious metal site such as kitco.com and find the current price of gold. Right now it is $1400 US dollars per troy ounce, but tomorrow it will be different. Look it up for yourself. Then multiply that price by the gold content of your coin. For instance, the 0.952 troy ounces of gold in a 20 pesos is worth 0.952 x 1400 = $1333 US dollars. This is the basic value, sometimes called the melt value, of the coin.

To the basic value now add collector premium. If your coin is damaged, scratched, cleaned, mounted in jewelry, or otherwise disfigured, the collector premium is zero and your coin is worth basic value. Otherwise, the collector premium varies with the amount of wear, the date, and the mint mark on your coin. We present first standard collector premiums, and then show additional values that come with *extra special* dates and mint marks.

The mint marks are three letters on the side of the coin with the scales.

The sum of basic value plus collector premium gives catalog value. Use our Important Terminology page to convert catalog value to actual buy and sell values.

CINCO PESOS approximate collector premiums
worn: $50 US dollars
average circulated: $100
well preserved: $250
fully uncirculated: $500

DIEZ PESOS approximate collector premiums
worn: $100 US dollars
average circulated: $200
well preserved: $450
fully uncirculated: $1000

VEINTE PESOS approximate collector premiums
worn: $50 US dollars
average circulated: $150
well preserved: $250
fully uncirculated: $650

In addition, you can approximately double collector premiums for:

CINCO PESOS 1878AsL, all dates with mint marks starting with Do, and 1877HoR

DIEZ PESOS all dates with mint marks starting with As, 1873 through 1891 with mint marks starting with Ga, 1872GoS, 1887GoR, 1888GoR, and all dates with mint marks starting with Ho

VEINTE PESOS all dates with mint marks starting with As, Oa, and Zs.
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