Numistmatists.....please look at this coin?

Question

One side has an eagle fighting a snake.
Under the eagle is a half circle of leaves, left side of the coin the leaves are open, right side of the coin the leaves are closed or they may be corn. The are connected by a bow.

On the top part of the coin are words "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" In the same form as our "In God We Trust".

The other side of the coin has the number 50c with an o
M under the 50c. Under that in a half circle (like the leaves on the other side) is a following of uUu_uUu_ on the bottom half of the coin.

However the _ represents a boxed x with two solid semi circles above the x and one hollow full circle above the 2 semi circles. (too hard to understand?) hope not.

Above the 50c is the date 1898.

The coin is a gold color and the edging of the coin has a wavy line encircling both sides and the roundness of the coin is wavy as well.

Answer 1

This doesn't sound like any regularly issued coin Mexico ever issued. A 50 cent coin of that period would be 90% silver and about 32 mm in diameter. There were no regularly issued 50 cent coins in the 1890s (The following link is to a photo of the 50 cent coin of the 1880s, for comparison). I would be somewhat suspicious of your coin because all Mexican coins issued prior to 1905 had the legend "REPUBLICA MEXICANA" vice "ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS".


http://cgi.ebay.com/MEXICO-1887-CnM-Silver-50-Centavos-VF-XF_W0QQitemZ170094050487QQihZ007QQcategoryZ541QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

What I think you have is a 1998 50 cent coin, which is the current type. Here is a link to a photo of that coin. It has a face value of about 5 cents US.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1998-Mexico-50-Centavos-World-Coin_W0QQitemZ8353400795QQihZ021QQcategoryZ541QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Answer 2

I believe you're describing a Mexican peso.