Talk:Mexican peso

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Contents 1 Coin images 2 Tostón 3 Decimalization 4 Until 1785? 5 Silver 6 10c and 20c? 7 Deleted some bills 8 Mex$

[edit] Coin images

I am not sure the article is improved with all those coin images. The images need descriptions and images. Please use this TALK space to discuss why each image furthers the article. Discuss descriptions, relevance, etc. Kingturtle 06:19, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

• Hajor - awesome solution! well done! Kingturtle 02:48, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • Shucks, thanks. Next outstanding task is to find some banknotes of below average tattiness and scan them in. Cheers, –Hajor 04:11, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

• • At home, I have a jar with a bunch of Mexican coins and bills. In fact, I'll probably be visiting a friend in Mexico in a couple of days. Is this stuff worth having here? Samboy 18:47, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I would say that showing banknotes with be a good idea. By the way $20, $50 and $100 coins are issued at special ocassions (to commemorate stuff) and are not used in everyday transactions (they can be accepted at transactions but they are not intended to replace banknotes). The $20 coin I guess is as used as the dollar coin in the US (not that often). --J.Alonso 20:59, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

By the way I just checked Banco de México's web page, the "Monedas tipo C" are the coins used today, which do not include $20, $50, $100 (in fact the $100 isn't even shown at all), and $20 is issued for special ocassions.

Yes, but the issuing of the C series didn't imply the removal of the B series of circulation. So the "old" 20s and 50s (although it's been a long time since I saw a $50) are still legal tender. Just rarer than hen's teeth. There's a page on the new $100s here (the Eng. page might be worth including in the article). I've got an Octavio $20 and a Jalisco $100 in my loose-change dish at the moment. No, they're not intended to replace the banknotes, just to circulate in parallel with them.

Banknote images -- very much needed, but I wasn't sure of the copyright status. Some countries don't mind, others do. –Hajor 21:25, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

The history section is horrible! The Mexican Peso did not even exist until 1864 under Maximillian (and then only briefly). The term Peso is being used where the Spanish 8 reales coin should be used! (and Spanish 8 reales coins were minted in many places other than Mexico) 3 August 2005

Dear Anonymus: I believe you have not done enough research on the history of the Mexican Peso. It is true that the real was used as well and that ONLY during the colonial times (as much as the shilling was used in Britain along with the pound before converting to the decimal system). Peso, originated as a weight measure of silver (of which Mexico was and is the first world producer, which made Spain, in colonial times, coin more Mexican pesos than any other form of currency), and it was equivalent to 8 reals (another meausure of weight), in turn, I believe it was 32 maravedis that made up a real, but that was only used in Spain. Also, the peso existed way before Maximilian, as the agreement on the "sale" of the Northern States and Territories to the US after the Mexican/American war (the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo), shows the amount in pesos. While the emission of Mexican coins were used throught the Spanish Empire before the Independence, after the independence it continued on. Plenty of documents abound that show the use of Mexican peso throught the 19th and obviously 20th century. --129.119.25.31 21:02, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

I have made some updates to the history section, bringing the history of the coinage up to the 1970's. Although the word "Peso" did not appear on any Mexican coin prior to Maximilian, the denomination did exist, equal to 8 reales (usually shown on the coin abbreviated as 8 R). The Spanish Milled Dollar was the coin the US dollar was denominated to, even in the times of the Continental Currency prior to 1792. ErickFlaig 13:59, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tostón

By the way, the term toston is NEVER used nowadays, as it refers to the 50 cents of the MXP. With the devaluation of the MXP up to 3.000 MXP per dollar, this coin ceased to be used in the early 80's, and the term was lost. With the introduction of the MXN in 1993, the "new" 50 cents coin was created, but it has never been referred to as toston.

In my experience, tostón is alive and well, used both for the 50c coin and the $50 note. –Hajor 21:21, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

Maybe it is a regional expression, which is not used in my area. I am Mexican, and I have never heard "tostón" applied to the 50 cents coin, and people my age never use it at all. To be honest, I didn't even know that a toston was 50 cents until I read the article. My dad uses it in his stories as a child buying candy in the good ol' days, with the "old" coins. I assume "tostón" was related to the color of the coin (which has nothing to do with today's new 50 cents coin). To me "tostón" sounds like "quinto"... old words to refer to old coins, not today's coins... people will say "no tengo ni un quinto", but few of them will ever relate it to the new 5 cent coin, and say... "here have a quinto". But again, that may be something regional, and in other places, the old word "tostón" has come back to life, and the new coin has been baptized with that name. And even if my dad talks of the 50 old coin as a "tostón", I can't see the conection with today's 50 peso bank note. On the other hand, even if it is used in some regions in Mexico, my hypothesis would be that the previous generations that grew up in the 50's and 60's are re-applying the "nickname", but my generation, which grew up speaking of 500 peso coins, 1000 peso coins, and even 5000 peso coins (before the new peso arrived) had no notion of its existence. --129.119.25.30 18:33, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

I concur... I'm also Mexican; I've visited several regions of Mexico, and I've never heard the word "tostón" used for the current 50-cent coins. --Doctor C 22:24, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'm also Mexican and I've heard from time to time people using the word "tostón", so it's not as frequent as it must have been a few decades ago, but it's still seldom used. Vicco Lizcano 19:36, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Decimalization

When was the peso decimalized? Was it in the "monetary reform of 1905" mentioned in the article? Nik42 09:13, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Never mind, found the answer. It was 1864. I'll add a note to the article Nik42 09:17, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Until 1785?

How can one say that "the Mexican peso was the official currency for much of North America until the United States dollar began to be issued in 1785", when Mexico didn't even exist as a country until decades later? Maybe there was a coin called "peso", but "Mexican peso"? Either that's wrong or should be clarified. Itub 01:11, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

And I would think that the British pound would've been about just as dominant as the peso on the eastern side of the continent, with a million Indians in between who wouldn't have cared about either one.Brian8710 06:45, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

The peso was actually far more used in what would later become the United States, due to the fact that there were no British coinage minted in the New World, while there were coins minted in Mexico. That's why we have a United States dollar and not a United States pound, the dollar being another name for peso Nik42 17:06, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Silver

is the 20 nuevo peso really silver? this should require a reference and where can i buy these if the peso declines? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.53.20.183 (talk • contribs) 21:11, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

(2003) in Chester L. Krause, Cliffor Mischler, Colin R. Bruce II, et al. (editors): 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-present, 31st ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-593-4.  --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 22:01, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 10c and 20c?

This article states that 10 and 20 centavo coins are still commonly used. Yet, my uncle and aunt said they never saw anything below 50 centavo when they vacationed in Mexico recently. Have those coins fallen out of use, or is it a regional issue, perhaps not in much use in tourist areas? Nik42 04:32, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi, I live in Mexico and those coins are still in use, altough I wouldn't be so sure as to say commonly. Articles reflect their "presence" in their prices (ej. $1.5, $1.7, etc.) but usually the clerks just round them to 50 cents. A latest fad (in supermarkets) is to ask you to donate those cents to some charity organization (and thus rounding your count to a peso or 50 cents). Vicco Lizcano 19:43, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

I added that info to the article. Please review. FYI, some people may attack that with WP:NOR. I find strictly adhering to that rule silly. And any wiki contributor in Mexico can verify that. If there's no source, it's fine. but it would be better if you can find a source, like a news article to back it up. --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 00:59, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Here are some official sources (all in Spanish), from five different Mexican states. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] . In case anyone asks. ;) Itub 01:12, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm sorry, I obviously don't speak Spanish. I tried to use Google translate to find things that look like 10 and 20 centavo coins. But I couldn't. Could you give some examples of untranslated quote from the sources? Thanks. --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 02:03, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm afraid none of them explicitly mention 10 and 20 cent coins, they just talk about "roundup" for donations. Here's one extract from each of the five sources above:

"El cambio que en muchas ocasiones consta de centavos puede definitivamente lograr un cambio positivo en la vida de cientos de niños que se encuentran en situación de calle” Así lo afirmó Alison Lane, Directora General de JUCONI, al anunciar el lanzamiento del programa de redondeo, que por segunda ocasión se realiza en una importante cadena de supermercados nacida en Torreón, Coahuila, a favor de JUCONI durante los meses de noviembre y diciembre de 2006."

("Change, which many times consists of only a few cents, can definitely result in a positive change in the life of hundreds of children on the street", announced Alison Lane, Director General of JUCONI, when launching the roundup program, to be implemented for the second time in an important supermarket chain in Torreon, Coahulia, in favor of JUCONI during November and December 2006.")

"El presidente municipal Alberto López Rosas en compañía de su esposa, la presidenta del DIF municipal, María Eugenia Díaz de López Rosas firmaron el convenio “En Pro de la Niñez Acapulqueña” con la empresa Carrefour que consiste en redondear los centavos de cada compra que realicen los consumidores, hasta el mes de diciembre."

("Municipal president Alberto López Rosas and with his wife, the president of the municipal DIF, María Eugenia Díaz de López Rosas, signed the agreement "For the Children of Acapulco" with Carrefour. The agreement consists in rounding up the cents of every purchase done by consumers until December.")

"REDONDEO EN BENEFICIO DE NIÑOS DE ESCASOS RECURSOS"

("Rounding up in benefit of poor children")

"actualmente, se analiza la posibilidad de realizar rifas y de pactar con algunos establecimientos comerciales el redondeo de centavos en las compras realizadas por clientes."

("currently, we are considering raffles and agreements with commercial establishments for the rounding up of purchases by consumers")

"De esta forma ha establecido convenios con los Municipios de Guanajuato, con establecimientos comerciales, instituciones bancarias y organizaciones civiles y sociales, para desarrollar proyectos como la venta de monedas conmemorativas, el redondeo de centavos y la aportación de recursos mediante el uso de tarjetas telefónicas Avantel."

("It has established agreements with the municipalities of Guanajuato, commercial establishments, banks, and civil institutions to develop projects such as the sale of commemorative coins, roundup of cents, and donations through Avantel phone cards.)"

Cheers, Itub 15:39, 11 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Deleted some bills

I've deleted some bills from Commons. For all we know, Mexican bills are copyrighted. This has left some red links in this article, and possibly others. I thought I'd inform you, so that you can fix it in the way you prefer. / Fred-Chess 17:09, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mex$

Although Mex$ is by no means unheard of, at least según Google, MX$ seems much more common. Wiki Wikardo 04:51, 2 December 2006 (UTC)