1947 Mexico 5 Pesos — Cuauhtémoc

Specifications

Denomination: 5 Pesos
Series: Cuauhtémoc 5 pesos
Years of issue: 1947-1948
Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 30 g
Diameter: 40 mm
Edge: Reeded
Mint marks: Mo
KM: KM 465
Mintage: 5110000
Key mintages: 1947 issue. The 1948 issue struck 26,740,000 (GreatCollections).

Melt value: $55.95silver $64.40/ozt, copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

CC BY 4.0 by Albertomos, Wikimedia Commons (File:1947-Messico-5-pesos-r.jpg).

A hefty 30-gram silver crown honoring Cuauhtémoc, the last Mexica emperor — Mexico's beloved mid-century silver giant.

History

Struck in 1947 and 1948 at the Mexico City mint (Mo) under KM 465, this 5 pesos honors Cuauhtémoc, the last Mexica emperor, who led the defense of Tenochtitlan against Cortés in 1521 and was put to death four years later (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
No individual designer is credited for the type in the standard references; the credit is institutional to the Casa de Moneda (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
The coin’s 30 g planchet in 90% fine silver is markedly finer than the 72% peso coinage circulating in the same years, and the portrait in feathered headdress became an emblem of indigenous resistance for the post-revolutionary state (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
The 1947 issue is scarcer by a wide margin: 5,110,000 were struck in 1947 versus 26,740,000 in 1948, more than five times as many (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
Demand comes from Mexican specialists, world crown collectors, and admirers of its portraiture; the issue bags marks easily, so the cheek and the flat of the headdress are the first places to check for contact (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
Specifications are 30 g, 40 mm, 90% silver, with a reeded edge (Greysheet, accessed 2026-09-16).

1947 — 5,110,000 struck, the scarcer of the two years (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
1948 — 26,740,000 struck, the plentiful second year and the affordable type representative (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).
High-grade 1947 — the scarcer year; original, mark-free Uncirculated examples are the ones collectors compete for (GreatCollections, accessed 2026-09-16).

Check the cheek and the flat of the headdress first — those high points show contact before anywhere else on this portrait.
Buy the 1947 for scarcity and the 1948 for the type at a lower price; don’t pay a two-year-type premium for the common date.
Silver value is real here: at 30 g and 90% fine, melt is a meaningful floor, so compare the ask against silver before paying a premium.
Avoid cleaned or polished examples — the large open portrait field makes hairlines obvious.