1/10 oz Silver Libertad 1993: Value & How to Sell

If you inherited or found a 1/10 oz Silver Libertad dated 1993, here is the honest answer: most examples are worth a modest premium over their silver content, not a fortune. At 3.08 grams of .999 fine silver, the metal alone sets a floor of roughly a few dollars, and a nice uncirculated coin trades for a moderate collector premium above that. Certified high-grade pieces are the ones that pull real money.

What you actually have

The Onza Libertad ("Liberty Ounce") is Mexico's flagship silver bullion coin, minted by the Casa de Moneda de México, the Mexican Mint. The 1/10 oz is the smallest common fraction in the series. Yours shows the Winged Victory (the angel from Mexico City's Independence Monument) flanked by the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, with the national coat of arms (an eagle devouring a serpent) on the reverse.

Key specs, exactly as struck:

• Metal: .999 fine silver (99.9% pure)
• Weight: 3.08 grams
• Diameter: 20 mm
• Edge: reeded
• Year: 1993 (single-year within this issue)

The 1993 coin belongs to the original 1982-1995 die type, which Mexican collectors nickname the "cuño gordita" (roughly, the "chubby die"): it is smaller in diameter and thicker than the modern die used since 1996. The 1/10 oz denomination joined the series in 1991, when the Bank of Mexico added fractional sizes to its silver line, so this is a relatively early small fraction.

What it's worth in 2026

Be realistic. This is a bullion coin, so it has two value layers:

1. Melt value (the floor): 1/10 of a troy ounce of silver. Whatever spot silver is doing, that is your baseline. It never drops below this by much.
2. Collector premium: small fractions carry a higher premium per ounce than the full 1-ounce coin, because more work goes into minting a tiny coin. A raw, circulated 1993 typically sells for a low collector premium over melt. A crisp uncirculated example sells for more, and a piece graded MS-69 or MS-70 by NGC or PCGS can command a strong multiple of melt.

Coin	Year	Condition	Typical value (USD)
1/10 oz Silver Libertad	1993	Circulated	A few dollars over melt
1/10 oz Silver Libertad	1993	Uncirculated (raw)	Moderate collector premium
1/10 oz Silver Libertad	1993	NGC/PCGS MS-69	Solid premium above melt
1/10 oz Silver Libertad	1993	NGC/PCGS MS-70	Highest tier, top demand

The exact figure moves with the silver spot price and with collector demand at the moment, so treat certified grade as the main variable you control. If you want a firm number, grade drives it more than the date does.

Is it rare?

Honest answer: the Bank of Mexico does not publish official mintage figures for this era. Public CM10 records only begin in the year 2000, so there is no confirmed strike count for 1993. Collector forums throw around numbers, but none are verified. Do not let anyone quote you a "only X ever made" figure as fact for this year. Small early fractions like this are scarcer than the modern issues, which supports the collector premium, but scarcity here is a matter of survivors and demand, not a documented low mintage.

The myth to ignore

Being from 1993 does not make this coin worth hundreds of dollars on its own. Age alone almost never drives Libertad value; grade and silver content do. A worn 1993 is worth a bit more than its silver, period. The pieces that sell for real premiums are pristine, certified, and in demand from Libertad collectors completing a set.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Counterfeits exist because this coin is precious metal. Check these first:

• Weight and size: it must weigh 3.08 grams and measure 20 mm. If your piece misses those numbers, be suspicious.
• Ping test: genuine .999 silver rings with a high, sustained tone when balanced on a fingertip and tapped gently. Fakes sound dull and short.
• Edge: it should be reeded (grooved).
• Certification: for anything you plan to sell above a token amount, professional grading by NGC or PCGS is the definitive check. It confirms authenticity and locks in the grade that sets the price.

Where to sell it

Since this is a precious-metal coin, sell only to someone who will inspect the piece and verify weight before paying:

• A verified numismatic dealer from the Pesoteca shop directory, who can appraise it on the spot.
• The Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum for direct deals with collectors.

Before you sell, photograph the obverse, reverse, and edge, and compare against the value range above. Do not dump it to the first buyer on Facebook. If your coin might have a mint error (off-center strike, die rotation, doubling), most "errors" circulating online are actually post-mint damage, so post clear photos in the Pesoteca forum and let collectors weigh in before you price it.

Have a 1993 or another year in your box? Post the weight and photos in our forum and we'll help you figure out whether it's a melt piece or a keeper.

1/10 troy oz Libertad silver 1993 Regular BU

This piece is the 1/10 troy oz silver Libertad, struck by the Mexico City Mint in 1993 in its Regular BU version.

Technical data. It contains 3.11 g of pure silver at .999 fineness and measures 20 mm in diameter. On the reverse it bears the effigy of the Angel of Independence, chosen by Banxico as the official symbol of the series since 1981. On the obverse appears the National Coat of Arms in its pre-1969 version, alongside other historical shields as an identity mark of the family.

Role within the set. It is a small fraction but already with presence in the hand. It is used as a gift piece and as a gateway to serious collecting. The premium over spot remains higher than that of the full ounce because of the weight of the die over few grams.

Context of the year. In 1993 Carlos Salinas de Gortari governed. NAFTA was signed in Washington. The Nuevo Peso came into force on January 1. The Libertad was struck without a nominal denomination, indicating only its content of pure silver.

Regular BU finish. The Regular finish, cataloged by Banxico as satin or BU, is obtained with dies without special polishing. The result is an even matte brilliance across the entire surface, without mirror contrast between fields and reliefs. It is the traditional bullion finish: bought for its weight in pure silver plus a modest die premium. It is the version that hunters seek to build the complete set by year without decapitalizing on each piece.

Mintage. The exact mintage of this combination does not appear in the public 2000-2025 tables of the Banco de México. For pieces outside that range one must consult the specific Mint catalog.