1936 Mexico 2 Centavos

The 1936 2 Centavos was struck at the Mexico City mint using bronze planchets, a practical choice during Mexico's economic recovery from the Revolution.

This small copper coin, weighing about 2.5 grams, bears the national coat of arms on one side—the eagle perched on a cactus, serpent in its beak—and the denomination on the reverse. Mintage figures for that year are murky; records from the era often went up in smoke, literally, due to poor storage.

As for its use, it circulated widely in daily transactions, from market stalls to rural villages. Not every coin from 1936 is a rarity; many turn up in pocket change even today. That's numismatics for you—sometimes the ordinary ones stick around longest.