Sell Mexican Gold Coins in Los Angeles for Cash Today
South Bay Coin pays top cash for Centenarios, Aztecas and Hidalgos brought in from across Los Angeles County. Every coin is read and weighed at our Lawndale counter before you are quoted, and you leave paid the same visit.
The Best Place to Sell Mexican Gold Coins in Los Angeles
If you want to sell Mexican gold coins in Los Angeles, the first thing that should happen at the counter is that somebody tells you what you are actually holding. South Bay Coin is a licensed, bonded and insured precious metals dealer at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale, and we have been buying gold from Los Angeles County families since 1980.
Mexican gold is one of the most common things carried into a gold counter here, and one of the most commonly misread. A centenario pendant, a loose 20 pesos in an envelope and a solid jeweler's copy all arrive under the same name. A counter that treats them as one category underpays two of them.
Sorting takes minutes and costs nothing. Each coin is entered on the slip as its own line and weighed in front of you, so the number you are offered is attached to something you can see. If a piece is worth nothing, we say so and hand it back.
Because we run our own refinery, the gold side of the offer does not pass through a middleman first. Bring one coin, an envelope of gold and silver coins from an estate, or a mixed lot of coins and gold jewelry. Anything that is not a coin goes on the same slip when you sell gold in Los Angeles, priced on its own terms.
Mexican Gold Coin Buyers Near Me in Lawndale
South Bay Coin
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How Can I Tell If My Centenario Is Real Gold?
The word names three different objects in this city, and only one of them is a coin. The first is the 50 pesos struck by the Mexican Mint for the Bank of Mexico, .900 fine, 21.6 karat, holding 37.5 grams of pure gold, with that weight printed on its own face as 37.5 Gr. Oro Puro. It is the largest coin in the modern peso series and holds more gold than a standard one ounce bullion coin.
The second is a copy in solid gold. Jewelers across Southern California make and sell these openly, in 10 or 14 karat, and many have no coin inside the frame at all because the whole pendant was cast as one piece. That is genuine gold and we buy it, but it is jewelry gold rather than mint gold, and a heavy one sits close enough to the real coin that it cannot be judged by hand.
The third is plated. A base metal disc under a gold layer far too thin to recover, with nothing inside worth paying for. Two of the three are worth real money and one is not, and you should be told which one is on the scale before anything is added up.
That is why nothing here is quoted from a photograph. The coin declares its own weight and matches it on a calibrated scale. A solid copy usually reads under that figure, and a plated piece under both. You watch it happen and you are told which of the three you brought in.
How Much Gold Is in a Mexican Gold Coin?
Most Mexican gold coins in circulation today carry a date that was frozen. The 50 pesos overwhelmingly reads 1947. The 20 and 10 pesos read 1959, the 5 pesos reads 1955, and the 2.5 and 2 pesos read 1945. Those are real coins from the Mexican Mint, struck later than their dates to meet demand for gold. Published accounts disagree about when each program ran and stopped, so we treat a date as the start of a conversation, not a verdict read off a chart.
What does not drift is the gold. Across the modern peso series the denomination is a gold weight in disguise: three quarters of a gram of pure gold for every peso of face value. Fifty pesos is 37.5 grams, twenty is 15 grams, ten is 7.5 grams, halving cleanly down to the smallest piece. That rule is why a coin reading 1947 and one reading 1959 are priced by the same arithmetic, and why we can price a mixed envelope without ranking the dates first.
One caution runs against it. Mexico recoined its gold early in the twentieth century, and pieces struck before that reform can carry a different weight and fineness under the same denomination. The face is a good guide, never the last word, so every coin still goes on the scale.
The date still gets read. A few early original strikes trade above their metal, and those are worth catching before a lot is priced as gold. Checking is free and happens on every visit.
Sell Centenario 50 Peso Gold Coins in Los Angeles
The 50 pesos carries Winged Victory, the Angel of Independence, holding a laurel wreath in one hand and broken chains in the other, with the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl behind her. The reverse carries the national coat of arms, and the face pairs 1821, the year of independence, with the coin's own date.
Original strikes ran through the 1920s and early 1930s and again in the 1940s. The 1921 and 1931 coins carry a genuine collector premium, and the 1943 issue is the odd one out: it leaves the denomination off the face and prints the gold weight twice. If your coin reads anything other than 1947, bring it in before selling it as metal.
Centenarios arrive loose in envelopes, in tubes and in bezels. On a common date condition is not the question, so a scuffed coin and a bright one are paid alike.
Sell Azteca 20 Peso Gold Coins for Cash
The 20 pesos takes its nickname from the Aztec sun stone, the Piedra del Sol, rendered across the reverse with the face of the sun at the center and the day signs ringed around it. Like its larger sibling it declares its own gold content, 15 grams of pure gold, so it tells any counter what it holds.
Nearly every Azteca you will see reads 1959. It is the coin people most often assume is a medal, because the design looks nothing like currency, and the one most likely to be loose in a drawer. The modern Libertad carries the same Angel but is a separate, later series priced on its own terms.
If somebody has told you a 20 pesos is a souvenir, weigh it before you believe it. Two Aztecas hold the same gold as one Centenario, and that figure is printed on the coin itself.
Sell Hidalgo 10, 5 and 2.5 Peso Gold Coins
The 10, 5 and 2.5 pesos carry the portrait of Miguel Hidalgo, the priest who began the war of independence, which is why the trade calls the group Hidalgos. The 10 pesos holds half the gold of an Azteca, the 5 holds half of that again, and the 2.5 half again, all the way down.
The smallest of the family, the dos pesos, does not carry Hidalgo at all and is about the size of a shirt button. It is the piece most often mistaken for a charm, and the one left behind when a family sorts an estate.
If you are bringing a Centenario, check the small compartments first. Four small pesos in a jewelry box hold real gold at the same rate per peso as the large coin, and they are quoted line by line, not swept into one weight.
Mexican Gold Coins We Buy for Cash in Los Angeles
We buy the whole peso series in any condition, loose or mounted, one coin or a full envelope. Worn coins are fine, as are coins you cannot identify.
Sell Centenarios and 50 Peso Coins
Every date, original strikes and restrikes, brilliant or heavily circulated. Single coins, full tubes and whole estate envelopes, each written on its own line.
Sell Aztecas and 20 Peso Coins
The sun stone coin in any year, including the pieces people bring in believing they are medals or foreign tokens of no value. Singly or by the roll.
Sell Hidalgos and Small Peso Coins
The 10, 5 and 2.5 pesos, plus the button sized 2 pesos so often overlooked in an estate. Small coins are quoted individually, never swept into one pile.
Sell Mounted Coins and Solid Gold Copies
Coins in frames and bezels, and solid 10 or 14 karat jeweler's copies. Real gold, bought as gold, with the difference explained before you decide.
How to Sell Mexican Gold Coins in Lawndale in Three Steps
Visit, Call or Text Us Photos
Walk into our Lawndale showroom at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd, no appointment needed. Or call (310) 363-7808 and text photos of both faces of the coin.
Get a Free Mexican Gold Coin Evaluation
We separate mint coins from copies, note any date worth a second look, and weigh each piece in front of you before a number is quoted.
Get Paid Cash the Same Visit
Accept the offer and take payment before you leave. Most visits run about fifteen minutes, and you will need a valid photo ID.
Mexican Gold Coin Buyers vs Jewelry Counters and Pawn Shops
Mexican gold reaches four kinds of buyer in Los Angeles, and only one sorts a mint coin from a jeweler's copy before naming a price.
| Feature | South Bay Coin | Jewelry Counters | Mail-In Buyers | Pawn Shops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tells you which of the three you have | Yes | Sometimes | No | Rarely |
| Prices a mint coin as a coin | Yes | Rarely | Varies | Rarely |
| Buys solid gold copies as gold | Yes | Yes | Varies | Sometimes |
| Original dates checked before a metal price | Yes | No | No | No |
| Each coin weighed in front of you | Yes | Sometimes | No | Sometimes |
| Coins never leave your sight | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Outright purchase, never a loan | Yes | Varies | Yes | No |
| Firm buy price posted before seeing the coin | No | No | Yes | No |
| Prepaid insured shipping label | No | No | Yes | No |
| Licensed CA dealer at one address since 1980 | Yes | Varies | Varies | Varies |
What Our Gold Coin Selling Customers Say
Common Questions About Selling Mexican Gold Coins
Where can I sell Mexican gold coins in Los Angeles?
South Bay Coin buys Mexican gold coins at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale, open Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM. No appointment is needed. We sort mint coins from copies, weigh each piece in front of you, and pay before you leave.
How much gold is in a 50 peso Centenario?
A 50 pesos holds 37.5 grams of pure gold at .900 fineness, which is 21.6 karat. That is more gold than a standard one ounce bullion coin, and the coin prints the figure on its own face. Your offer tracks that weight against the live market on the day you sell.
How much is a Centenario worth today?
A common date Centenario is priced on the gold it holds, 37.5 grams of pure gold read against the live market on the day you sell. A few early dates carry a collector premium above that. We weigh the coin in front of you and say which basis your offer used.
Why do so many Mexican gold coins say 1947?
Because the Mexican Mint kept striking 50 pesos coins with that date long after 1947, to meet demand for gold rather than for circulation. Those Mexican gold coins are genuine, not counterfeits. The same practice froze other denominations at 1959, 1955 and 1945, so a repeated date is normal.
Is my Centenario real if there is no coin inside the frame?
It is real gold, but it is not a coin. Many pendants sold in Southern California are cast as one solid piece in 10 or 14 karat, with the design and the frame formed together. We buy those, priced as jewelry gold on their own weight, and we will show you why yours reads that way.
Do you buy gold plated Centenario pendants?
Generally no. A plated or laminado piece is base metal under a gold layer far too thin to recover, so there is nothing to pay for. We will tell you that for free rather than make an offer you should not take. If the chain it hangs on is solid gold, that part we buy.
Is a 20 peso Azteca worth more than a 10 peso Hidalgo?
Yes, and by a predictable amount. Across the modern peso series each coin carries three quarters of a gram of gold for every peso of face value, so a 20 pesos holds 15 grams and a 10 pesos holds 7.5 grams. The 20 is worth double the 10 on metal alone.
Are older Mexican gold coins worth more than restrikes?
Sometimes. Most peso coins trade on their gold content whatever the date, but a few early original strikes carry a collector premium above metal, particularly the first year and a scarce date from the early 1930s. We check dates before quoting, which costs nothing and occasionally changes the number.
Do I have to report selling Mexican gold coins?
Dealer reporting rules and your own tax position are separate questions, and published guidance on reporting sales of Mexican gold coins was revisited recently, so practice varies across the trade. We follow current requirements for our own filings. For what a sale means on your return, speak with your tax advisor.
Should I take my coin out of its bezel before selling?
No. Leave it as it is and let us look first. On a common restrike there is no collector premium to protect, so the frame is simply weighed as its own gold line beside the coin. On an early date it matters more, and nothing gets removed without you standing there.
Ready to Sell Mexican Gold Coins in Los Angeles?
Walk in with no appointment, or text photos of both faces for a free estimate before you make the drive to Lawndale. Immediate payment.
