History & Money
Click here for a condensed History of Mexico.
It is worth taking a few moments to familiarize yourself with Mexican money. This
will help the first time you dig in your pocket for correct change or a tip. You
will also enjoy an amazing journey through Mexican history and culture.
The Mexican peso was originally pure silver and was the first coin to use exact weights and a detailed border to thwart counterfeiters, making it very popular.
Pesos are designated with the same symbol as US dollars. In fact, the
dollar
symbol was taken from Spanish-Mexican currency.
1 Throughout this website,
USD $ stands for US dollars and MXN $ stands for Mexican pesos.
Images On The Centavos Coins
Centavos (cents) come in four denominations. The 5¢ and 10¢ coins are steel, the
20¢ and 50¢ coins are bronze.
Rings on the reverse side (surrounding the value) are taken from the Aztec Piedra
del Sol (Sun Stone). This twelve-foot diameter, four-foot thick monolithic basalt
sculpture was excavated in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City, in December
of 1790. This religious and cosmological artifact contains a hieroglyphic and pictographic
layout of how the Aztecs measured time. It is currently housed in the National Museum
of Anthropology in Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park.
The Aztec Calendar had 20 days. The image on the 20¢ coin is of Ácatl (the reed),
the sign of the thirteenth day.2
Obverse—Mexican Coat of Arms
This is an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture. The coat of arms closely
mimics Aztec symbols developed almost seven hundred years ago. It depicts a Mexican
golden eagle (águila real, or royal eagle), on a cactus, devouring a snake (the
snake is a modern embellishment). This symbol had strong religious significance
for the Aztecs. It came to symbolize the triumph of good over evil for those of
European ancestry.
Images on the Pesos Coins
The MXN $1, $2 and $5 coins have bronze centers with steel rings. The MXN $10 and
$20 coins have steel centers with bronze rings.
Rings on the reverse side (surrounding the value) are also taken from the Aztec
Piedra del Sol. The Mexican Coat of Arms is repeated on the obverse.
Tonatiuh is the Sun god3 contained in the center of the Aztec Piedra del Sol.
Miguel Hidalgo (1753-1811) is considered the Father of Mexican Independence. He
was a nonconformist parish priest, entrepreneur, and free-thinking humanitarian
social activist, well-educated in both European and indigenous culture and languages.
In September of 1810 he uttered the famous Grito de Dolores (see the Calendar),
by ringing a church bell and crying for revolt against Spanish oppression. He recruited
two hundred thousand men, mostly indigenous, within a year. He was eventually captured
and executed with other revolutionary leaders. However, within a decade, Mexico
had won its freedom from Spain.
Commonly Used Bank Notes
On the front side of all Mexican banknotes, in the upper right corner, you will
find a set hieroglyphics to the left of the denomination value. These are for the
use of sight-impaired individuals.
MXN $20 FRONT—Benito Juárez (1806-1872) was an indigenous Zapotec shepherd, an
impoverished orphan, who became arguably Mexico’s most popular president. He was
a lawyer, judge, Governor of Oaxaca, and Supreme Court Justice before serving as
President from 1857 until his death. He is remembered for being a progressive
reformer,4 who abolished special privileges for the military and clergy
and declared all Mexicans equal, including the nation's indigenous Indian population.
MXN $20 BACK—A statue of Juárez in the Alameda Central (a famous Mexico City park) is flanked
by the Angel of Independence and Lady of Justice.
MXN $50 FRONT—José María Morelos (1765-1815) was a mestizo of indigenous, African
and Spanish ancestry, a priest, and insurgent5 who took leadership
of the Mexican independence movement after the death of Miguel Hidalgo in 1811.
He shared Hidalgo’s commitment to far-reaching political and social reforms. After
joining the insurrection, he quickly gained recognition as the most gifted of military
strategists, winning 22 victories in his first nine months. He thoroughly outfought
the Spanish in three separate campaigns.
In 1813, Morelos called a National Congress to declare independence and initiate
political and social reform, abolishing slavery, torture, monopolies, and feudal
tributes. His fourth military campaign ended in a series of disasters. Although
he was taken prisoner and executed, his cause was ultimately successful.
MXN $50 BACK—Aqueduct in Morelia, Michoacan
MXN $100 FRONT—Nezahualcoyotl (Coyote who Fasts) (1402-1472) was the
tlatoani (ruler)6 of the city-state of Texcoco. Revered as a
sage and poet-king, Nezahualcoyotl was patron to the tlamatini (wise men), a group
of philosophers, artists, musicians and sculptors. His rule ushered in a Texcoco
Golden Age marked by extensive scholarship, accomplished engineering, and the arts.
He was a gifted designer and architect, who created public works such as hilltop
gardens, sculptures and a massive aqueduct and water treatment system. He instigated
judicial reform, creating councils of finance, war, justice and music (culture).
He was survived by an estimated 110 children.
Nezahualcoyotl is remembered as a great poet. One of his poems appears in tiny print
on the face of the 100-peso note.
Amo el canto de zenzontle
Pájaro de cuatrocientas voces,
Amo el color del jade
Y el enervante perfume de las flores,
Pero más amo a mi hermano: el hombre.
I love the song of the mockingbird
Bird of four hundred voices,
I love the color of the jadestone
And the enervating perfume of flowers,
But more than all I love my brother: man.
MXN $100 BACK— Xochipilli (flower prince) was the Aztec god of love, games,
beauty, dance, flowers, maize, and florid song. This 16th-century Aztec statue of
Xochipilli was unearthed in the mid-1800s on the side of the volcano Popocatépetl
near Tlamanalco. The statue and base are covered in carvings of sacred psychoactive
plants including mushrooms, tobacco, morning glory, sinicuichi, cacahuaxochitl,
and an unknown flower. He appears to be absorbed in the mystic trance temicxoch
(the “flowery dream” in the native Nahuatl language). The statue is currently housed
in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park.The background
of the bill shows the silhouette of an aztec ball game, the “rod of the word,” and
a representation of the aqueduct completed by Nezahualcóyotl. To the left is a representation
of Xihuacóatl, the fire serpent found at the southern end of the Great Temple of
Tenayuca, in México State.
MXN $200 FRONT—Juana de Asbaje (1651-1695) was born in poor circumstances7 in 17th century Mexico. She was a self-educated peasant, whose unrivalled
mastery as a writer encompassed all literary genres, from the sacred document to
the essay, and especially poetry. She was a proto-feminist who composed plays and
poems that questioned the role of women in society and male hypocrisy. Eventually,
she was forced by the Catholic Church to stop writing on secular subjects. De Asbaje
then earned further ire by writing critical essays on the nature of divinity and
a woman’s right to education. Forced to repent to a Jesuit inquisitor, she sold
her comprehensive library, donated the money to the poor, and stopped writing for
the last two years of her life. She died of the plague while caring for other nuns.
MXN $200 BACK—The Templo de San Jerónimo was founded by the Dominican Friar, Jordan de Santa
Catalina, during the middle of the sixteenth century as a place for deep religious
meditation. He spent 25 years here, without ever going out. During this time, he
wrote the first Zapotec language dictionary. Indigenous people consider him a saint;
their work is seen in the ornamentation and architectural elements of the church.
MXN $500 FRONT—Ignacio Zaragoza (1829-1862) was a Mexican General, Minister of
War, and national hero who won a famous victory against the French at the Battle
of Puebla, celebrated today as Cinco de Mayo. Zaragoza attended seminary as a young
man. In 1855, he joined the Liberal Party and led a volunteer army8
in opposition to Santa Anna. This victory reestablished Mexico as a constitutional
democracy.
After his later victory over Napoleon III and the French (who were joined by the
English and Spanish), he famously wrote a one-line letter to President Benito Juárez
stating Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria (The national arms have been
covered with glory). This phrase is memorialized to the lower right of his image
on the $500 banknote. He contracted typhoid fever shortly thereafter and died at
the age of 33.
MXN $500 BACK—The Cathedral of Puebla
