1946 Mexican 10 Centavos (Cupronickel): Value & How to Sell

If you found a 1946 Mexican 10 centavos, here is the honest answer: in circulated condition it is worth a few cents to about a dollar. This is a common coin, not a rarity. The value only climbs, into the tens of dollars, when the coin is uncirculated and certified in high grade.

What you actually have

The 1946 10 centavos ("diez centavos" means ten cents, one tenth of a Mexican peso) is a small cupronickel coin struck by the Casa de Moneda de México, the Mexican Mint. It carries the national coat of arms, an eagle on a cactus devouring a serpent, on the front.

Specifications:

Feature	Detail
Denomination	10 centavos (0.10 peso)
Year	1946
Composition	Cupronickel (copper-nickel alloy)
Weight	1.52 grams
Diameter	15 mm
Edge	Smooth (plain)
Mint	Casa de Moneda de México

The cupronickel alloy gives it a grayish tone, which is how you tell it apart from the bronze coins circulating in the same era. At 15 mm and 1.52 grams, this is a tiny coin, small enough that many got lost in daily use.

Is it worth money?

Short answer: usually no, not much. This coin was made for everyday spending and circulated heavily. Millions passed through pockets, so a worn 1946 10 centavos is common and trades for pocket change among collectors, roughly a few cents to a dollar.

What changes the picture is condition. Because the coin saw so much use, finding one with sharp, crisp detail and no real wear is harder than the mintage numbers suggest. A high-grade, uncirculated example, especially one graded by NGC or PCGS in Mint State, can sell for a range of a few dollars up to the low tens of dollars depending on eye appeal and grade.

There is no cupronickel bullion value here. Copper-nickel is not a precious metal, so this coin has no silver or gold floor. Its worth is purely collector demand, and that demand rewards grade.

If you are sorting Mexican coins and wondering what actually commands real money, see our guide to the most valuable Mexican coins. For silver pieces from the same broad era, the Mexican silver coins page explains which ones carry melt value.

The realistic value range

Condition	Approximate value (USD)
Well circulated (worn)	A few cents to about 1 dollar
Lightly circulated	1 to 3 dollars
Uncirculated, ungraded	3 to 10 dollars
High-grade, certified (NGC/PCGS MS)	10 to low tens of dollars

Treat these as a guide, not a quote. The exact figure depends on the specific grade, the coin's surfaces, and what a buyer is willing to pay that day.

Errors and varieties

Genuine mint errors, off-center strikes, die rotation, doubled strikes, can multiply the value of a small coin like this. The catch: most "errors" people post online are post-mint damage, corrosion, or plain wear, not factory mistakes. Verified errors are rare. If you think you have one, post clear photos in the Pesoteca forum and let collectors weigh in before you assume it is worth extra.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Counterfeits of a low-value coin are uncommon, but it is easy to check.

• Weigh it. A jewelry scale should read close to 1.52 grams.
• Measure it. A caliper should read about 15 mm across.
• Look at the strike. Genuine coins show crisp relief and even color. Fakes often have flat detail, wrong weight or diameter, or blotchy coloring.

If the weight and diameter match and the detail looks correct, you almost certainly have the real thing.

Where to sell it

For a coin in this value range, keep it simple:

• A verified numismatic shop from the Pesoteca directory can appraise it on the spot, sorted by city.
• The Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum connects you directly with collectors, useful if you have a high-grade example.

Before you sell, photograph the front, back, and edge, and compare your coin against the value range above. Do not dump it on the first social-media offer. For a common coin the difference is small in dollars, but a genuine high-grade piece deserves a real appraisal.

Got a 1946 10 centavos in unusually sharp condition, or think you spotted a real striking error? Post your photos in the Pesoteca forum and the community will help you pin down the grade and the value.

The centavo coins form the base of the Mexican monetary system. Banxico has modified their diameters, materials and alloys several times over the last decades to optimize minting costs. The 10-centavo Cupronickel piece minted in 1946 belongs to the Banxico Numismatic Collection catalog documented on its official site.

For Mexican collectors the centavo pieces have value when they capture a change of material, a die error or an atypically low mintage. Banxico publishes the annual mintages in CM10 since the year 2000. For earlier pieces the data may not be available. This entry follows the convention of the PSM System, one ID per distinct physical piece, not per shared design.