Mexico 1972 centavo

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen is one of a type issued by the Mexico City mint 1970-73. By the late 1950's, the Mexican peso had begun its inexorable slide. Coin types, once stable in the early part of the century, began turning over more rapidly as inflation ate away their purchasing power. While this gave employment to coin designers and engravers, it limited their scope of action as progressively cheaper alloys were adopted. This centavo is a reduced size version of the type struck 1950-69 (KM 417). Mintages are small, suggesting that the mint realized the futility of striking such a low value denomination.

Recorded mintage: 1,000,000.

Specification: 1.5 g, brass, 13 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM 418.

Source:

• 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.

Link to:

• 1949 centavo
• 1967 centavo
• 1970 centavo
• 1972 5 centavos
• 1972 50 centavos
• 1972 5 pesos
• 1972 25 pesos, Juarez
• 1973 centavo
• Coins and currency dated 1972
• return to Mexican coinage of the modern era, since 1905