50 Centavos 1982 (Cuauhtémoc): What It's Worth

If you found a 1982 Mexican 50 centavos coin (the one with the feathered headdress), the honest answer is that a worn one is worth cents. Over 45 million were minted, so it is one of the most common coins of its type. A pristine uncirculated example can reach 45 USD, but that is the ceiling and only for certified top-grade pieces.

This is not a silver coin, and it is not a rare one. Let us go through exactly what you have and what drives its value.

What is the 1982 50 Centavos?

This is a copper-nickel coin from the Casa de Moneda de México (the Mexican Mint), issued during the final years of the old peso before the 1993 currency reform. "Cincuenta Centavos" means fifty cents, so it was half a peso when it circulated.

The front (obverse) shows the Mexican national coat of arms: an eagle devouring a serpent on a cactus. The back (reverse) shows the left-facing bust of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor, wearing his feathered headdress, with the mint mark "Mo" and the year 1982. This design is cataloged as KM 452.

Specifications

Feature	Detail
Metal	Copper-nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel)
Weight	6.5 g
Diameter	25 mm
Edge	Reeded
Mintage (1982)	45,474,000
Catalog	KM 452
Precious metal	None

How much is it worth in 2026?

Everything comes down to condition.

• Circulated and worn: a few cents. This is the reality for the vast majority of these coins. With over 45 million minted, they are everywhere.
• Uncirculated (UNC): here it earns a premium. Depending on grade, uncirculated examples have sold from a few dollars up to about 45 USD for flawless certified pieces.

Catalogs list a range of roughly 0.15 to 45 USD. The high end is reached only by impeccable, professionally graded coins. If yours has visible wear on the headdress or the eagle, you are looking at the bottom of that range.

The Pakal / Palenque mix-up

A lot of people confuse this coin with the one showing Pakal, the Maya ruler from Palenque. They are different coins. Your 1982 piece is the Cuauhtémoc type, with the Aztec emperor and his feathered headdress. The Palenque (Pakal) design did not start circulating until 1983. If yours says 1982 and shows a feathered headdress in profile, it is the Cuauhtémoc type.

Where this coin sits in a collection

The 1982 50 centavos belongs to the last chapter of the old peso, before the heavy inflation of the 1980s pushed out low-denomination coins and before the Nuevos Pesos of 1993 replaced the entire system. Its larger size stands out compared to the lighter fractional coins that came later.

For anyone building a set of Mexican circulating coinage by decade, 1982 is a date worth having, but do not expect it to be a payday. Its value is set almost entirely by condition, not by rarity.

How to check what yours is worth

1. Look for wear. Check the eagle and the feathers of the headdress first. These are the high points that wear down earliest. If they are sharp and the coin still has original mint luster (a bright, unhandled shine), you may have an uncirculated piece.
2. Check for scratches and cleaning. Cleaning a coin destroys value. Never clean it.
3. Consider grading. If it truly looks uncirculated, certification by NGC or PCGS proves the grade and is what unlocks the higher end of the price range. For a common coin like this, only bother grading if it is genuinely pristine.
4. Compare real offers. Do not overpay for a circulated one, and if yours is uncirculated, find a buyer who values that grade.

Where to buy or sell it

Because this is a common coin, shop around before you accept any price. Check the Pesoteca shop directory to find coin dealers and compare real prices. You can also see our guide to Mexican coins that are actually worth money to understand what separates a common piece from a valuable one, and our guide to grading and condition to judge yours accurately.

Have a 1982 50 centavos and not sure if it is circulated or uncirculated? Post a clear photo of both sides in the Pesoteca forum and the community can help you place its grade before you buy or sell.

Centavo coins form the base of the Mexican monetary system. Banxico has modified their diameters, materials and alloys several times over the last few decades to optimize minting costs. The 50 centavos Cupronickel piece minted in 1982 belongs to the Banxico Numismatic Collection catalog documented on its official site.

For Mexican collectors, centavo pieces have value when they capture a material change, 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.