2 pesos, in gold please!

Yes that's right, Gold. I was surprised too! Right now the peso is only worth about 7 or 8 cents. But back in 1945 the 2 peso coin was made of gold. Admittedly it is a very small coin, smaller than the US dime, weighing in at a staggering 1/20th of an ounce. The gold content today is worth about 32 dollars.

The difference in value is actually much greater than it appears. In 1993 Mexico introduced a new peso (the nuevo peso) worth 1000 of the old pesos. Although they dropped the word nuevo in 1996, all current Mexican money is denominated in nuevos pesos. So the 2 peso gold coin actually has a face value of about .0075 cents!

To collectors, a coin like this is worth about $60 dollars today. Because of its small size, it even finds its way into jewelery.

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow the coin of the day will be another gold coin, but this one will be American!