50 Centavos small type

The "small type" designation distinguishes this issue from the larger-diameter 50 centavos that preceded it, a size reduction carried out as part of Mexico's broader coinage rationalization in the mid-2000s aimed at reducing metal costs across the circulating series. Stainless steel had already replaced the earlier stainless and aluminum-bronze bimetallic formats by this point. The coin circulates heavily throughout Mexico and sees particularly rapid wear in street market and transit fare contexts.