Mexican peso
The
peso is the unit of currency of
Mexico.
The symbol used for the peso is "
$", which is sometimes annotated
Mex$ to distinguish from U.S. dollars, while the 100
centavos into which it is divided are represented by "
¢". The current
ISO 4217 code for the Mexican peso is
MXN; prior to the 1993 revaluation (see below), the code "MXP" was used.
The Mexican peso was the official currency for much of
North America until the
United States dollar began to be issued in 1785.
First peso
The peso was initially the name of the eight-
real coin issued in Mexico by
Spain. This was the so-called
Spanish dollars or
pieces of eight.
The name
peso means weight, and this is a reference to the principal characteristic of the coin. During colonial times, the
silver mines of Mexico supplied ample sources of pure silver and, more importantly, the peso was the first coin to have a border that made it easy to detect if the coin had been tampered with. It was a common practice to cut or wear down the edges of gold and silver coins, thus obtaining raw precious metal. Since the peso was a coin of pure silver with an exact weight, it became very popular: Mexican pesos were used in large numbers in
China and the
Philippines.
After a decree adopted by the
United States on
6 July 1785, the peso became the official currency of most of
North America; it also became the foundation for the U.S. monetary system, at a rate of one peso to one dollar. The
US dollar was not issued until
2 April 1792, but the peso continued to be officially recognized and used until
21 February 1857. In
Canada, it remained a legal medium of payment until
1858.
After Mexico gained its independence in 1822, the new government continued the Spanish monetary of system of 16 silver reales = 1 gold escudo, with the peso of 8 reales the largest silver coin. Paper money was also issued, denominated in pesos.
In 1863, the first issue was made of coins denominated in
centavos, worth one hundredth of the peso. This was followed in 1866 by coins denominated
one peso. Coins denominated in reales continued to be issued until 1897. In 1905, the gold content of the peso was reduced by 49.3% but the silver content of the peso remained initially unchanged. However, from 1918 onward, the silver content of the peso declined, eventually disappearing in 1970 when the first cupro-nickel pesos were issued.
Second peso
Throughout most of the 20th century, the Mexican peso remained one of the most stable currencies in
Latin America, since the economy did not experience periods of hyperinflation common to other countries in the region. However, after the
Oil Crisis of the late 1970s, Mexico defaulted on its external debt in
1982, and experienced several years of inflation and devaluation until a government economic strategy called the "Stability and Economic Growth Pact"
(Pacto de estabilidad y crecimiento económico, PECE) was adopted under
President Carlos Salinas. On
1 January 1993, the
Bank of Mexico introduced a new currency, the
nuevo peso ("new peso", or MXN), written "N$" followed by the numerical amount. One new peso, or N$1.00, was equal to 1,000 of the obsolete MXP pesos.
On
1 January 1996, the modifier
nuevo was dropped from the name and new coins and banknotes – identical in every respect to the 1993 issue, with the exception of the now absent word "nuevo" – were put into circulation. The ISO 4217 code, however, remained unchanged as MXN.
Nowadays, due to the stability of the Mexican economy, and the growth in foreign investment, the Mexican peso is among the
15 most traded currency units in the world, and the most traded in Latin America. It has been fairly stable for the last few years; since the late 1990s the peso has traded at about 10 to 1 to the U.S. dollar, and is currently about $11 per dollar. This makes it relatively easy to convert from dollars to pesos and back; the 50¢ coin
(tostón) is worth about the same as a U.S. nickel, and a 200 peso note about USD $18.
The 8 reales piece of Emperor
Augustin de Iturbide was a large silver coin, .903 fine, minted from 1822 to 1823. The obverse carried a variety of portraits of the Emperor, and the legend "August. Dei. Prov." and the date, or "Augustinus Dei Providentia" and the date. The reverse had several different versions of the Mexican 'eagle', with the legend "Constiiut.8.R.I.M.Mex.I.Imperatior."
The eagle was the
Golden Eagle (
Aquila chrysaetos). It was a traditional symbol of the
Aztecs, but it was changed according to European heraldic traditions (see
Coat of Arms of Mexico).
With the establishment of the
republic in
1823, the Mexican eagle moved to the obverse, with the legend "Republica Mexicana." The reverse featured a liberty cap with rays behind. The legend on the reverse reads, "8 R -mintmark- -date- -2 letter code- 10 Ds. 20 Gs." Mexico used the medieval system of dineros and granos to measure the fineness of their coins. Twelve dineros designated pure silver. Each dinero was divided into 24 granos. A coin of 10 Ds. 20 Gs equated to .902777 fine. These coins were minted from 1823 to 1897, even during Maximilian's rule.
Emperor
Maximilian I of Mexico, the French puppet who ruled from 1864-1867, minted the first coin with the legend "peso" on it, in addition to establishing a decimalized currency. His portrait was on the obverse, with the legend "Maximiliano Emperador;" the reverse shows the imperial arms and the legends "Imperio Mexicano" and "1 Peso" and the date. They were struck from 1866 to 1867.
The new Mexican republic continued to strike the 8 reales piece, but also began minting a 1 peso coin, of .903 fineness. The obverse featured the Mexican 'eagle' and the legend "Republica Mexicana." The reverse showed a pair of balances and the legend "Un Peso -mintmark- .9027." These were made from
1869 to
1873, and again from
1898 to
1909, with the
Phrygian, or liberty cap taking the place of the balances.
The monetary reform of 1905 brought a new peso, the famous "Caballito," one of the most beautiful of Mexican coins. The obverse had the Mexican 'eagle' and the legends "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" and "Un Peso." The reverse showed a woman riding a horse, her hand lifted high in exhortation, and the date. These were minted in .903 silver from
1910 to
1914. The value of the peso could not keep up with the value of the silver in it. The peso was reduced in size in
1918, the 'eagle' changed, and the reverse again showing a liberty cap, "Un Peso" and the date. The silver content dropped to .800, and then to .720 in
1920 to 1945. A new silver peso of .500 fineness was struck in
1947; the Mexican 'eagle' on the obverse with the legend "Estados Unidos Mexicanos." The reverse showed
José María Morelos, "Un Peso" -date- -mintmark- 14 gr .500." This was minted only from 1947-49. The silver content dropped to .300 in
1950, with a new portrait of Morelos on the reverse. No reference was made now to the silver content.
In
1957, the peso was dropped to .100 silver, the denomination and date moved to the obverse, and a new portrait of Morelos appeared. These were minted from 1957-1967. A special peso in the same fineness and size was minted in
1957 to commemorate
Benito Juárez and the constitution of 1857. These were the last silver pesos.
In
1970, Mexico began minting
cupronickel pesos, with the same basic features, and the fourth different portrait of Morelos.
Nuevo peso
Banco de México website says:
Type B coins are those issued by Banco de Mexico with denominations of five, ten, twenty and fifty cents, as well as one, two, five, ten, twenty and fifty nuevos pesos. All of these coins are representative of the monetary unit currently in force and were minted before January 1st, 1996. Characteristics of type B coins are different from the coins representative of the monetary unit which was in force until December 31st, 1992.Type B coins bear the adjective "nuevos" or its abbreviation "N" next to the word "pesos" or its abbreviation "$".Type C coins are those issued by Banco de Mexico with denominations of five, ten, twenty and fifty cents, as well as one, two five, ten, twenty and fifty pesos. All of these coins are representative of the monetary unit currently in force and minted since January 1st, 1996.Physical characteristics of type C coins, are similar to those of type B coins; the sole difference is that for type C coins the adjective "nuevos" or its abbreviation "N" has been omitted.However, according to actual observation, centavo coins never had "neuvos" from the start.
The coins commonly encountered in circulation have face values of 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, and $20. A $50 coin also exists and is
legal tender, but it was not included in the 1996 issue; it is extremely rare and largely disliked by users. The $20 coin is slightly less rare, but disliked just as intensely. Coins worth 5¢ were also introduced at the changeover; they are now rare, however, and might even have been withdrawn from circulation. All the coins incorporate design elements from the
Aztec Calendar.
(The $50 coin must be distinguished from the Mexican
gold bullion 50-peso coin, which contains 37.5
grams (1.2067
troy ounces) of pure gold and, of course, does not circulate at face value.)
In
2003 the
Bank of Mexico began the gradual launch of a new series of bimetallic $100 coins. These number 32 – one for each of the nation's
31 states, plus the
Federal District. While the obverse of these coins bears the traditional
Coat of arms of Mexico, their reverses show the individual coats of arms of the component states. The first states to be celebrated in this fashion were
Zacatecas,
Yucatán,
Veracruz, and
Tlaxcala. In circulation they are extraordinarily rare, but their novelty value counterbalances the unease most users feel at having such a large amount of money in a single coin. Although the Bank has tried to encourage users to collect full sets of these coins, issuing special display folders for the purpose, the high cost involved has worked against them. Bullion versions of these coins are also available, with the outer ring made of
gold, instead of a
aluminium bronze.
| 1992 Series [1] |
|---|
| Image | Value | Diameter | Weight | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | First Minted Year |
|---|
| | 5¢ | 15.5 mm | 1.58 g | Stainless steel
16% ~ 18% chromium
0.75% nickel, maximum
0.12% carbon, maximum
1% silicon, maximum
1% manganese, maximum
0.03% sulfur, maximum
0.04% phosphorus, maximum
remaining of iron | Smooth | State title, coat of arms | Value, the Quincunces Ring from the Aztec sun stone | 1992 |
| | 10¢ | 17 mm | 2.08 g | Value, the Sacrifice Ring from the Aztec sun stone |
| | 20¢ | 19.5 mm (shortest)
Dodecagon | 3.04 g | Aluminium bronze
92% copper
6% aluminium
2% nickel | Smooth | State title, coat of arms | Value, Ácatl (13th day of the Aztec calendar) | 1992 |
| | 50¢ | 22 mm
Scalloped shape | 4.39 g | Value, the Acceptance Ring from the Aztec sun stone |
| | N$1
or $1 | 21 mm | 3.95 g | Ring: Stainless steel (as 10¢)
Center: Aluminium bronze (as 50¢) | Smooth | State title, coat of arms | Value, the Sunshine Ring from the Aztec sun stone | N$: 1992
$: 1996 |
| | N$2
or $2 | 23 mm | 5.19 g | Value, the (partial) Days Ring from the Aztec sun stone |
| | N$5
or $5 | 25.5 mm | 7.07 g | Value, the Snakes Ring from the Aztec sun stone |
| bgcolor = "#cdad00"| N$10 | 28 mm | 11.183 g
R: 5.579 g
C: 5.604 g | Ring: Aluminium bronze (as 50¢)
Center: 925‰ silver | Milled | State title, coat of arms | Value, Tonatiuh from the Aztec sun stone at the center | 1992 |
| | $10 | 28 mm | 10.329 g
R: 5.579 g
C: 4.75 g | Ring: Aluminium bronze (as 50¢)
Center: 65% copper
25% zinc
10% nickel | Milled | State title, coat of arms | Value, Tonatiuh from the Aztec sun stone at the center | 1997 |
| | N$20 | 31.5 mm | ? g | Ring: Aluminium bronze (as 50¢)
Center: Silver | ? | State title, coat of arms | Miguel Hidalgo | 1993 |
| bgcolor = "#cdad00"| $50 | 40 mm | ? g | Ring: ?
Center: 925‰ silver | ? | State title, coat of arms | Value, the Hero Cadets of the Battle of Chapultepec |
| Commemorative Coins (selected) |
|---|
| Image | Value | Diameter | Weight | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | First Minted Year |
|---|
| bgcolor = "#cdad00"| $10 | 28 mm | ? g | Ring: ?
Center: Cupronickel | Inscription | State title, coat of arms | Value, Tonatiuh from the Aztec sun stone at the center, "AÑO 2000" or "AÑO 2001" instead of "DIEZ PESOS" | 2000 |
| | $20 | 31.5 mm | ? g | Ring: Aluminium bronze (as 50¢)
Center: Cupronickel | ? | State title, coat of arms | Aztec "New Fire" ceremony | 2000 |
| | Octavio Paz |
| bgcolor = "#cdad00" rowspan=2| $100 | 39 mm | 33.967 g | Ring: Aluminium bronze
Center: 925‰ silver | Intermittent milling | State title, coat of arms | Coats of arms of the 31 States of Mexico and the Federal District
(In reverse alphabetical order) | 2003 |
| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Culture of the states (e.g. architecture, wildlife, flora, art, science, dances)
(In normal alphabetical order) | 2005 |
| These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world coins. |
Banknotes are issued in denominations of $20, $50, $100, $200, $500, and, since
November 2004, a new $1000 note. A $10 note existed during the early days of the changeover; while still legal tender, they are no longer printed and no longer found in circulation.
These banknotes depict figures from
Mexican history.
On
April 5, 2004 the
Chamber of Deputies approved a measure to demand the
Banco de México to produce by
January 1,
2006 notes and coins that are identifiable by the blind population (estimated at more than 750,000 visually impaired citizens, including 250,000 that are completely blind)
[Ordenan emitir billetes para invidentes ("(The deputies) order production of bills for invidents"). April 5, 2004. Retrieved on February 14, 2006 from esmas.com ].
Since December 2005, $100, $200, and $500 MXN banknotes include raised, tactile patterns (like
Braille), meant to make them distinguishable for people with vision incapacities. This system has been questioned and many demand that it be replaced by actual
Braille so it can be used by foreigners not used to these symbols. The Banco de México, however, says they will continue issuing the symbol bills.
The raised, tactile patterns are as follows:
| Value | Bill | Description of pattern |
|---|
| $100 | | Five diagonal lines side by side, with a negative slope, each broken up into three segments. |
| $200 | | Small broken-up square pattern. |
| $500 | | Four horizontal lines under each other, each broken up into three segments. |
*
1994 economic crisis in Mexico*
Notes and coins at the site of
Banco de México (Mexico's Central Bank)
*
Historical Mexican Banknotes
