Mexico 50 Pesos 1983 Coyolxauhqui: Value & How to Sell

If you found a large Mexican coin with a stone disc showing a face on the back, marked 50 PESOS and dated 1983, here is the honest answer: in circulated condition it is worth cents to a couple of US dollars, not a fortune. It contains no silver and no gold. Only the proof version and pristine uncirculated examples carry real premiums.

This is the 50 pesos "Coyolxauhqui" (pronounced ko-yol-SHOW-kee), named for the Aztec moon goddess carved on the reverse. It is a copper-nickel coin, not a precious metal coin, and that single fact settles most value questions.

What this coin actually is

The 1983 50 pesos was struck at the Casa de Moneda de México (the Mexican Mint). The reverse shows the Coyolxauhqui, the Aztec moon goddess, copied from the famous stone monolith unearthed in 1978 during excavations of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City, with the legend TEMPLO MAYOR DE MÉXICO. The obverse carries the Mexican national coat of arms (an eagle on a cactus with a serpent).

Specifications, exactly as issued:

• Metal: copper-nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). No silver, no gold.
• Weight: 19.64 grams
• Diameter: 35 mm
• Edge: reeded
• Mint: Mexico City

This belongs to the last years of the "old peso," the era before Mexico revalued its currency in 1993. Inflation was pushing denominations higher, and silver had already disappeared from everyday coinage. Copper-nickel became the practical metal of the decade, and this 50 pesos circulated alongside the aluminum and brass coins that dominated the 1980s.

How much is the 1983 50 pesos worth?

The short version: not much, unless it is exceptional.

The reason worn examples are cheap is simple. In 1983 the Mexican Mint struck 45 million business-strike coins. That is fewer than the 222 million struck in 1982, but still far too many to make a common circulated coin rare. Age alone does not create value here. Survivors are everywhere.

Value climbs only in two situations: high-grade uncirculated coins where the moon goddess relief is fully struck and the original mint luster is intact, and the 1983 proof, of which just 1,051 pieces were produced. If you have a proof or a certified Mint State example, it is worth having appraised.

Does it contain any silver?

None. This is the question we get most, and the answer is zero silver. The 50 pesos Coyolxauhqui from 1982 to 1984 is copper-nickel throughout. Its value does not track the silver market; it depends only on condition and on whether it is a business strike or a proof. If you are hoping for melt value, there is no bullion floor on this coin.

If you inherited a box of Mexican coins and want the ones that do contain silver, that is a separate hunt. Older Mexican pieces and bullion issues like the Onza Libertad (Silver Libertad) are where the metal value lives.

Don't confuse it with the other 50 pesos

There are two very different 50 pesos coins from this general period, and people mix them up constantly:

• 50 Pesos Coyolxauhqui (1982-1984): copper-nickel, 19.64 g, 35 mm. This page.
• 50 Pesos Benito Juárez (1984-1988): smaller, 8.5 g, 23.5 mm, showing a portrait of Benito Juárez.

If your coin is small and shows a man's face, it is the Juárez type, not the Coyolxauhqui.

The error-coin myth

You may see listings online asking sky-high prices for "double die" 1983 50 pesos. Read those carefully. A genuine, well-documented mint error can raise value, but the vast majority of these listings are ordinary circulated coins with wishful pricing, or damage mistaken for an error. A real doubled die has to be verified by someone who knows what they are looking at. A normal worn coin is worth what a normal worn coin is worth, no matter what the seller types in the title.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Counterfeits of a low-value copper-nickel coin are uncommon, but check the basics anyway:

1. Weight: should be about 19.64 grams. A kitchen or jewelry scale settles it fast.
2. Diameter: 35 mm across.
3. Edge: reeded (fine vertical grooves).
4. Obverse: Mexican coat of arms.
5. Reverse: the Coyolxauhqui monolith with TEMPLO MAYOR DE MÉXICO.

If the weight or size is off, be suspicious. For a proof or a high-grade coin you plan to sell for a premium, professional certification (NGC or PCGS) is worth the cost because it confirms both authenticity and grade to buyers.

Where to sell it in 2026

For a common circulated example, do not expect much, and do not pay to have it graded. Your best move is to compare what dealers and collectors are actually paying rather than trusting a single optimistic online listing. The Pesoteca dealer directory lets you check real prices across shops and collectors. For a proof or an uncirculated coin with full luster, seek out a buyer who values condition, since that is the only version of this coin where grade drives a real premium.

Still working through an inherited group of coins? Post clear photos of the whole lot in the Pesoteca forum and let the community help you spot the ones actually worth setting aside.

Circulating Mexican peso coins from the second half of the 20th century were struck in alloys that changed with the cost of metals and inflationary processes: .720 silver in the $1, $5, $10, $25 denominations during the 1940s-50s; cupronickel from the 1970s; aluminum bronze and stainless steel in the 1980s; pieces with historical figures (Hidalgo, Cuauhtemoc, Juarez, Madero) in the late 1980s just before the transition to Nuevos Pesos in 1992. 1983 corresponds to the period when this variant was in circulation.