Mexico’s mint — the Casa de Moneda, founded in 1535 — is the oldest in the Americas and struck the famous “pieces of eight” that underpinned world trade. This hub maps the colonial and republican eras, the cap-and-rays series, the Caballito, the Centenario, and the modern Libertad bullion line.
Key facts
- The Casa de Moneda de México was established in 1535 — the oldest mint in the Americas; Spanish colonial 8 reales (“pieces of eight”) were struck there and circulated as legal tender in the United States until 1857.
- The independent republic began issuing its own silver coinage in 1824.
- The decimal peso was introduced under Maximilian in the 1860s, and a major coinage reform in 1905 re-based Mexican coinage on the gold standard.
- In 1993 Mexico introduced the nuevo peso at 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos; “nuevo” was dropped in 1996, making today’s peso (MXN) the descendant of the old peso.
- Key series collectors hunt: cap-and-rays 8 reales (1824–1897), the Caballito peso (1910–1914), the 50-pesos Centenario (1921–1947), and the Libertad bullion series (gold from 1981, silver from 1982).
- Authentication notes: Mexican colonial and republican silver is widely counterfeited; multiple mints and assayers mean weight (27.07 g, .9027 silver for the standard 8 reales/peso) is the first check, and key rarities belong in certified holders.