For the discriminating investor seeking to own gold that is both relatively affordable and strikingly beautiful, the varying denominations of the gold Mexican Peso are very appealing.

The famous Mexico City Mint, the oldest in North America, produced gold pesos from the early years of the twentieth century into the 1970s in denominations ranging from two pesos to fifty. All of which share a common design on the obverse: the Mexican Coat of Arms, depicting an eagle perched on a cactus with a serpent in its beak.

The 2.5 peso, 5 peso, and 10 peso coins also share a reverse featuring a portrait of Don Miguel Hidalgo, the beloved priest and father of Mexican independence who was executed for his efforts to free the country from Spanish rule. The reverse of the 2 peso coin is rather spare and elegant, consisting only of the inscription “Dos Pesos” at the center of a laurel wreath.

The reverse of the 20 peso coin captures the ancient Aztec sun calendar, Cuauhxicalli, believed to have been carved c. 1479. The reverse of the 50 peso coin is in another league altogether. Often compared to the Saint-Gaudens American Double Eagle, the Mexican 50 peso is surely one of the world’s most beautiful coins. The reverse is composed of a frontal view of Winged Victory, laurel wreath in her raised right hand and the broken chains of bondage in her left, with two famous Mexican volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihautl, rising behind.

As a commemorative coin celebrating one hundred years of Mexican independence, the 50 peso is powerful in its symbolism and stunning in its artistry.

Mexican gold pesos are minted of .900 fine gold and are available in the following denominations: 50 pesos (1921-31, 1944-47, 1949-72), which contains 1.2057 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 37.08mm in diameter; 20 pesos (1917-21, 1959, 1960-71), which contains .4823 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 27.43mm in diameter; 10 pesos (1905-08, 1910, 1916-17, 1919-20, 1959, 1961-72), which contains .2411 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 22.5mm in diameter; 5 pesos (1905-07, 1910, 1918-20, 1955-72), which contains .1205 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 19.05mm in diameter; 2.5 pesos (1919-20, 1944-48, 1951-72), which contains .0602 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 15.6mm in diameter; and, finally, in 2 pesos (1919-20, 1944-48, 1951-72), which contains .0482 troy ounces of pure gold and measures 13mm in diameter.