1930 Mexico 1 Centavo

Here's yet another "bargain bin" rescue.

It seems to me that most professional dealers couldn't care less about Mexican coins, especially material dating from the 20th century. Under this handicap, the fractional specie, particularly if bronze, becomes the least bothered with. Certainly much of it is heavily circulated basura that if it can be sold at all goes for such a pittance that it can't be worth most dealers' trouble. But the flip side of that is that many dealers have seemed to have lost sight of how scarce many of these issues are in higher grades.

The little fellow pictured below is a case on point. Certainly brown, but exhibiting really no discernable wear (on these earlier obverse styles, the snake's body across the eagle's breast is the telltale focal point). I'll continue to gladly snag every example like this that's culled from a dealer's inventory of individual offerings (typically the airtite I need for such costs me several times what the coin goes for).