2020-04-29 Wed

A new 20-peso Mexico coin that commemorates the 500th anniversary of the founding of the port city of Veracruz is in circulation from 22nd April 2020. Made out of nickel, silver, bronze, and aluminum, the coin is dodecagonal – that is, it has 12 sides. The coin is slightly smaller, thinner, and lighter than previously-minted, completely round 20-peso coins.

It has a diameter of 30 millimeters, a thickness of 2.4mm, and weighs just under 12.7 grams whereas 20-peso coins that have been put into circulation over the last 27 years measure 32mm from side to side, are 2.75mm thick and tip the scales at almost 16 grams.

The reverse side of the coin features images of the original Veracruz town hall (still in use as the municipal palace) and a 16th-century ship reminiscent of the one on which Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés sailed to the Gulf coast in 1519. The words “500 years of the foundation of the city and port of Veracruz” encircle the coin’s perimeter.

Like all of Mexico’s coins, the obverse side of the new one features Mexico’s coat of arms – an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. Mexico’s official name, Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or the ‘United Mexican States’, is embossed on the top half of the coin’s obverse side perimeter.

The new coin has security features that its predecessors of the same denomination did not have including a “micro-inscription” of “500 VERACRUZ” and a “latent image” of the number 20 that can only be seen if the coin is tilted. For the time being, the new 20-peso coin and the 20-peso banknote will exist side by side but the central bank plans to phase out the latter.

Image Courtesy: elfinanciero.com.mx