Mexico 1939-M 20 centavos

from the Stack's Bowers June 2021 Collector's Choice sale, lot 72425

from the Mountain Groan Collection

The first specimen was lot 72425 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2021), where it sold for $132. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MEXICO. 20 Centavos, 1939-M. Mexico City Mint. PCGS MS-67 Gold Shield. Pop: 2, none graded finer by PCGS. A fully argent and lustrous example with lovely frosty raised devices." This type was struck 1920-21, 1925-30, 1933-43. A brief spike in silver prices forced the mint to issue bronze 20 centavos (KM 437) in 1935. Many dates, including this one, trade as bullion coins.

Recorded mintage: 8,800,000.

Specification: 3.33 g, 0.720 fine silver, 19 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM-438.

Sources:

• Amaya Guerra, Carlos Abel, Epitome Ilustrado de la Moneda Mexican Moderna, 1905 a 2015, Monterrey, Mexico, 2015.
• Bailey, Don and Lois, Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money, Volume 1, An Illustrated History of Mexican Coins and Currency, Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2014.
• Buttrey, T. V., and Clyde Hubbard, A Guide Book of Mexican Coins, 1822 to date, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1992.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• Harris, Robert P., A Guide Book of Modern Latin American Coins, Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing Co., 1966.
• Utberg, Neil S., The Coins of Mexico, 1536-1963, San Antonio, TX, 1963.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The June 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.

Link to:

• 1935 bronze 20 centavos
• 1937 20 centavos
• 1939 2 centavos
• 1939 10 centavos
• 1939 50 centavos
• 1940 20 centavos
• Coins and currency dated 1939
• return to Mexican coinage of the modern era, since 1905