Mexico 1942-Mo 5 centavos KM-424

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This specimen is an example of a type struck 1942-55 at Mexico City. The last branch mints, Zacatecas and Culiacan, were closed in 1905 and all official Mexican coinage since has borne the Mexico City mintmark ("M" or "Mo"). The previous copper-nickel five centavos (KM 423, struck 1936-42) were deemed too expensive to produce, given the coin's ever shrinking purchasing power. The previous bronze five centavos (KM 422) was demonetized in 1936 and withdrawn in 1937. This type was superseded by a smaller brass five centavos which was struck until 1976, when the denomination was retired for lack of purchasing power. The portrait is of Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, a heroine of the War of Independence.

Recorded mintage: 900,000 plus 7,100,000 of the copper nickel type (KM 423).

Specification: 6.5 g, bronze, 25.5 mm diameter, plain edge.

Catalog reference: KM 424.

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.
• Harris, Robert P., A Guide Book of Modern Latin American Coins, Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing Co., 1966.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• Utberg, Neil S., The Coins of Mexico, 1536-1963, San Antonio, TX, 1963.

Link to:

• 1931 5 centavos
• 1940 5 centavos
• 1942 centavo
• 1942 5 centavos, copper-nickel
• 1942 10 centavos
• 1942 20 centavos
• 1942 50 centavos
• 1943 5 centavos
• 1952 5 centavos
• Coins and currency dated 1942
• return to Mexican coinage of the modern era, since 1905