Plated 1945 Mexican Centavo? - Pics

Looks to me like tinfoil from a cigarette pack. Scratch it and more "silver" will likely come off.

Looks to me like someone plated the coin - tin or silver electroplating is possible. It could be painted as well but from the description of the way the plate adheres - I suspect a chemical or electro bond attachment method.

The reason why it was done takes some guesswork. But I see two possibilities right off the bat:

1. The plating could be done for jewelry purposes. There are many gold and silver plated base metal coins that were used in jewelry to make bracelets. The coins were drilled and suspended like charms. Some were also put in bezels and worn suspended from chains, but usually necklaces were made with larger than Centavo sized coins. On a centavo sized coin I would expect to see a mounting hole drilled top dead center.

2. Since I do not see a hole - it could be a forgery - used to pass in change as a 20 centavo - a silver coin of about the same diameter. It could have been put in a roll and if you don't look too close it might get by.

If I had to, I would bet on #2.

I believe the centavo coins made from 1906 to 1949 (KM 415) measure about 19 mm in diameter and the 20 Centavos made from 1920 to 1943 (KM 438) also measure about 19 mm. I think you were looking at the 20 Centavo dating from 1905 to 1914 (KM 435). These earlier 20c coins left circulation during the Revolution and hit the melting pots when the standard weight of the Peso was modified in 1920. They were worth more as raw silver than their face value. So I believe comment 2 is still accurate for the 20c coin that was still circulating in 1945. Silver prices did not drive the latter issue out of circulation until after the 1947 reduction in standard peso weight.