Mexico 50 centavos 1950 Mo - Cuauhtémoc

The coin's story

This 50 centavos coin in 300 thousandths billon was struck only in 1950 and 1951 by the United Mexican States. The reverse shows Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor from 1520 to 1521, who defended Tenochtitlan when it was besieged by the Spaniards, was captured while trying to flee, and was then executed by Cortés around 1525. His name means “descending eagle”, hence the diving eagle at which his bust, itself conjectural, is looking. The obverse bears the national emblem, the eagle holding a serpent in its beak. Both sides are the work of Lorenzo Rafael. The 1950 date was struck at the Mexico City Mint in 13,570,000 pieces, the bust would reappear on the 50 centavos from 1955 to 1959.