Mexico Durango 5 Centavos 1914

The Mexican Revolutionary war gained independence from Spain during the extended period of 1910 to 1917. This war is of particular interest to numismatists (coin collectors) because it sparked many local mints into action, producing coinage in various denominations from 1 centavo to 1 and 2 pesos. Some of these mints were in the State of Durango in northern Mexico, an area of operation for the famous Pancho Villa. Studying the Mexican Revolution through coinage is a sizable numismatic project, because hundreds of different coins were minted by 10 different Mexican States in many different metals.

Kaizen's particular coin is one of the more refined patterns. Others, like the 1 centavo a the left, are much more crude. There are many varieties with subtle differences (another challenge for our hypothetical Mexican Revolution numismatist).

For Kaizens's coin, the one in the main picture with the snake and eagle, the value is quite low for coins minted in brass, and quite high for coins minted in pure copper. Our picture shows a brass coin, which is worth about $5 US dollars retail price. Brass is copper and zinc. The zinc in the brass lightens its color. A pure copper coin in the same condition would command about $250. That's quite a difference for a little bit of zinc!
cqLastNotify