In the early 20th century, the Mexico was one of the few stable and growing nations in Latin America. Its Mexican Peso currency was also relatively stable. Banknotes from the AA series issued from 1936-1943 were printed by the American Bank Note Company. However, 1969 brought a newly designed series of Mexican Peso banknotes printed by Banco De Mexico for the upcoming decade. These new banknotes ranged in denominations from 5 Pesos – 1,000 Pesos. They featured designs dedicated to national heroes, art, and ancient Mesoamerican artifacts. Read along to learn about the Mexico Hyperinflation Series Banknotes.
However unbeknownst to anyone, a decade later, economic mismanagement, the 1979 energy crisis tied to the Iranian Revolution and the Iran / Iraq war of 1980 would destroy the Mexican economy and plunge the country into a recession. Rising inflation would force larger denomination banknotes to be printed. 1980 brought with it new A series banknote family. In continuation from the previous AA series, these ranged in denominations from $2,000 Pesos as the lowest while the largest denomination, 100,000 Pesos was issued in 1991. However, it wasn’t until 1993 when the old denominations had 3 zeros removed and were replaced by a new banknote series (B Series) and Mexico would experience some relief. We’ll use the rest of this post to go over these Mexican hyperinflation banknotes.
Mexico Hyperinflation Series Banknotes
Mexico 2,000 Pesos, 1989. This is the lowest denomination of the A Series (1980). It features a combination of green, brown, and black. Its obverse features Mexican writer, Justo Sierra and artist Juan O’Gorman’s mural Historical Representation of Culture in the Central Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The reverse depicts the bank seal and a guilloche overprint. It also shows the 19th-century courtyard with a colonnade and the equestrian statue of Carlos IV at the University of Mexico.
Mexico 20,000 Pesos, 1989. This is the 3rd largest denomination in the A Series (1980). It’s colored in blue, black, purple, and red and its obverse side a view of the Tulum temple, and a portrait of Don Andres Quintana Roo, a Mexican lawyer who served as a member of the Congress of Chilpancingo which drafted the Mexican Declaration of Independence in 1813. Its reverse side contains Spanish text, a bank guilloche, the bank seal, the Mural of Bonampak, Mayan musicians, and the Lintel of Yaxchilan (Dintel de Yaxchilan), a Mayan stone carving from Chiapas.
The second largest denomination of the A Series is the Mexico 50,000 Pesos, 1990. It has hints of black, purple, and brown. Its obverse features a stylized image of a Cuauhtemoc bird glyph and Cuauhtemoc who was an Aztec emperor. The note’s reverse depicts a bank guilloche, the bank seal, an unknown object, and a Spaniard in armor fighting an Aztec in a bird costume, from the painting by Jorge Gonzalez Camarena “La Fusion de dos Culturas (Melting of Two Cultures) in Chapultepec castle.
Finally the largest denomination printed by Mexico in the last century is the Mexico 100,000 Pesos Banknote, 1991. It’s colored in reddish-brown, blue, and black colors. Its obverse side features the 40th Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles and the Banco de Mexico building in Mexico City. Its reverse side contains Spanish text, the bank seal, a bank guilloche, organ pipe cacti in Sonora, a mountain and a lake, and a head of a desert mule deer. It has been demonetized since the 1990’s. Did you know about these hyperinflation series Mexican Peso banknotes?
