1945 Mexico 10 Centavos (Cupronickel): Value & Worth

If you inherited or found a 1945 Mexican 10 centavos in cupronickel, here is the honest answer: in circulated condition it is worth a few US cents to about 1 dollar. A clean, uncirculated example can bring a few dollars. This is a common coin, not a rarity, and no version of it is worth a fortune.

We say that up front because a lot of sites hint that any old Mexican coin might be a jackpot. It usually is not. Value on this piece comes down to one thing: condition. Below is what yours is realistically worth and how to check it.

What this coin actually is

This is a 10 centavos (ten cents of a Mexican peso), struck in 1945 at the Casa de Moneda de México, the Mexican Mint. It belongs to the modern Mexican centavos series and carries the standard national obverse.

• Metal: Cupronickel (a copper-nickel alloy, no silver, no gold)
• Weight: 1.52 grams
• Diameter: 15 millimeters
• Edge: Plain (smooth)
• Obverse: The Mexican coat of arms (an eagle on a cactus with a serpent) and the legend "ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS" (United Mexican States, the country's official name)
• Reverse: The denomination and date

Because it contains no precious metal, there is no melt value to fall back on. Its worth is purely collector-driven, and demand for this date is low because it was made in large numbers.

What a 1945 10 centavos is worth in USD

The range is narrow. The gap between a worn coin and a pristine one is small in dollar terms, but it is real.

Condition	Description	Approx. value (USD)
Circulated (worn)	Details soft, scratches, common finds	Under 0.50
Fine / Very Fine	Moderate wear, clear design	0.50 to 1.50
Uncirculated (no wear)	Full detail, mint luster	2 to 6
Certified high grade (MS64+)	Graded by NGC or PCGS	10 to 25

These are collector prices between hobbyists. A dealer buying from you will pay less, since they need resale margin. Do not expect a windfall on a single common-date coin.

Is it rare?

No. The 1945 10 centavos was a regular circulation issue, so millions passed through people's hands. Rarity in coins comes from low mintage, low survival, or scarce varieties, and this date has none of those working in its favor.

Where small money does show up is in genuine mint errors: off-center strikes, die rotation, doubled dies. If verified by a grading service, these can multiply the value. Be careful, though. Most "errors" people post online are post-mint damage: dings, corrosion, or wear, not factory mistakes. When in doubt, get a second opinion before you get excited.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Counterfeiting a low-value coin like this is uncommon, but here is how to confirm it:

1. Weigh it. A jeweler's scale should read close to 1.52 grams.
2. Measure it. The diameter should be 15 millimeters with a caliper.
3. Check the detail. Real strikes have crisp relief. Flat, mushy design or wrong coloring is a red flag.
4. Look at the edge. It should be plain and smooth.

A fake usually gets the weight or diameter wrong, or shows soft, blurry lettering. For anything you think might be an error or unusually valuable, submission to NGC or PCGS settles the question.

Where to sell it

For a common coin like this, your best options are:

• A verified coin dealer. Use the Pesoteca dealer directory to find one by city. They appraise on the spot, no inflated markups.
• The Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum, where you deal directly with collectors.

Before you sell, photograph the obverse, reverse, and edge, and compare your coin to the value table above. For a single low-value piece it is often worth waiting until you have a small group of coins to sell together. If you want to understand grading first, read our guide to coin condition grades and browse the full Mexican centavos series to see how yours fits in.

Have a 1945 10 centavos you think might be an error or a high grade? Post clear photos in the Pesoteca forum and let the community weigh in before you sell.

Cent coins form the base of the Mexican monetary system. Banxico has modified their diameters, materials and alloys several times over the past decades to optimize minting costs. The 10-cent Cupronickel piece struck in 1945 belongs to the Banxico Numismatic Collection catalog documented on its official site.

For Mexican collectors, cent pieces gain value when they capture a change of material, a die error or an atypically low mintage. Banxico publishes annual mintages in CM10 since the year 2000. For earlier pieces the data may not be available. This entry follows the convention of the PSM System, one ID per distinct physical piece, not per shared design.