Mexican 10 Pesos Bimetallic Coin 1998: Value & How to Sell

If you found a chunky two-tone Mexican coin marked "10 Pesos" dated 1998, here is the honest answer: in worn condition it is worth face value, roughly 50 to 60 US cents at the current exchange rate. It is not rare and millions were made. The exceptions, and there are a few, are covered below.

This is standard circulating money, not silver, not gold. The 1998 10 pesos is a bimetallic coin (two metals joined together): an outer ring of aluminum-bronze and an inner core of silver-colored nickel-brass alloy. It weighs 10.328 grams, measures 28 mm across, and has a reeded edge. It was struck by the Casa de Moneda de México, the Mexican Mint, the oldest mint in the Americas.

What it's actually worth in 2026

For the vast majority of people, this coin has no collector premium. It trades at or just above face value.

• Circulated (worn, scratched, from a drawer or change jar): face value only, about 50 to 60 US cents.
• Uncirculated with original luster, core well centered: typically 2 to 5 US dollars to a collector.
• Certified in high grade (MS65 or better by NGC or PCGS): small premium, often 8 to 20 US dollars, and only worth certifying if the coin is genuinely pristine.

There is no silver in this coin, so there is no melt value to fall back on. Its floor is simply its 10-peso face value.

Coin	Year	Condition	Approx. value (USD)
10 Pesos bimetallic	1998	Circulated	Face value (0.50 to 0.60)
10 Pesos bimetallic	1998	Uncirculated	2 to 5
10 Pesos bimetallic	1998	Certified MS65+	8 to 20

Why this coin exists

The 1998 10 pesos belongs to the modern circulating series Mexico's central bank (Banco de México, or Banxico) rolled out starting in 1993, after the currency reform that created the "Nuevos Pesos." That reform cut three zeros off the old peso and introduced a fresh set of coins. The higher denominations were made bimetallic so the public could tell them apart quickly by sight and feel.

The reverse core carries the Aztec calendar stone (the Piedra del Sol), the same motif shared by the 5, 10, 20, and 50 peso coins of that era. That design is what makes the series instantly recognizable, and it is the detail most people remember when they pull one of these out of an old wallet.

What separates a common one from a keeper

Because it is bimetallic, two things drive whatever premium this coin can carry:

1. Centering of the core. If the silver-colored center sits off-kilter inside the ring, it is either a mint error (potentially valuable) or just a poorly struck common piece (not). Genuine, verifiable off-center cores are the ones worth attention.
2. Ring wear and original luster. A coin with a sharp, unmarked ring and full mint brightness is far scarcer than a beat-up one, even though both left the mint by the millions.

Mint errors do exist on this series: off-center strikes, die rotation, doubled strikes, and known varieties. When genuine and verified, these can multiply the value. But most "errors" people post online are post-mint damage: dings, corrosion, or a core loosened by wear. That is not a factory error and adds nothing.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Weigh it on a jeweler's scale and measure it with calipers. A real one is 10.328 grams and 28 mm across. Counterfeits and altered pieces usually miss on weight or diameter, show flat mushy relief, or have the two colors bleeding into each other where the metals meet. On a genuine coin the ring and core are cleanly separated.

Where to sell it

If yours is an ordinary circulated example, honestly, it is worth spending it. If it is uncirculated or you suspect a real error, get it in front of someone who knows the series:

• A verified numismatic shop from the Pesoteca directory can appraise it on the spot.
• The Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum puts you in front of collectors directly.
• Photograph the obverse, reverse, and edge before you sell, and compare against the value range above.

Don't dump it to the first bidder on social media, and don't assume "old" means "valuable" here. It doesn't, for the common ones.

Think your 1998 10 pesos has an off-center core or another oddity? Post clear photos in the Pesoteca forum and let the community tell you if it's a real error or just wear.

When Banxico dropped the N$ prefix from the peso starting in 1996, circulating pieces kept the same physical format as their Nuevos Pesos equivalents from the decree of June 22, 1992. This bimetallic 10-peso coin struck in 1998 is part of that continuity: same technical specifications, same base design with the National Coat of Arms on the obverse, only the face value visible on the reverse changed. That's why lining up dates reveals long runs with very little variation.

For the Mexican collector building a year-by-year set, these pieces fill the basic gaps before you go hunting for the rare commemorative versions. Banxico has documented mintages in its Monetary Circular CM10 since the year 2000, so for 1998 you can verify the exact mintage against that source. Pesoteca catalogs each year as a distinct physical piece in the PSM System family C, following our convention of one ID per collectible piece, not per shared design.