50 Pesos or Britannia 1 oz: which is the better buy today?
50 Pesos holds 37.50 g of fine gold and Britannia 1 oz 31.10 g — close enough to be the same purchase in metal, and far enough apart in everything else not to be the same coin to own.
| coin | 50 Pesos | Britannia 1 oz |
|---|---|---|
| fine gold | 37.50 g | 31.10 g |
| gross weight | 41.67 g | 31.10 g |
| purity | 900 ‰ · 21.6 kt | 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt |
| diameter | 37 mm | 32.69 mm |
| thickness | 2.69 mm | 2.79 mm |
| face value | 50 pesos | 100 pounds |
| struck | Mexico · 1921–1947 | United Kingdom · since 1987 |
The prices come from the feed, and the feed has not answered yet.
50 Pesos — The Centenario: 37.5 g of fine gold, more than an ounce, struck for the centenary of independence and restruck ever since with the 1947 date.
Britannia 1 oz — Struck in 999.9 gold since 2013 — earlier ones are 22 carat. Legal tender in the United Kingdom, which is what exempts it from capital gains tax there.
50 Pesos is 900 ‰ · 21.6 kt, so it weighs 41.67 g for its 37.50 g of gold; Britannia 1 oz is 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt, 31.10 g on the scale. Neither holds more gold for the difference: the alloy is hardness, which is why 50 Pesos can be handled and Britannia 1 oz travels in a capsule.
50 Pesos was money before it was an investment — struck from 1921 to 1947 — and is bought today as a bullion coin on the strength of being recognised everywhere; Britannia 1 oz has been struck for investors since 1987, and its price is the metal plus the mint’s and the dealer’s margin, nothing else.
So the comparison is the premium. Whichever of the two a dealer asks less for above its metal is the cheaper gold that day — and that changes shop by shop and day by day, which is what the numbers above are for.