A few years ago, there were plans to replace the 20-peso banknote (currently worth a little more than a dollar) with coins. That seems to have been as successful as the effort in the U.S. to replace the dollar bill with a coin. I still get plenty of 20-peso bills in my change, but I think I have only once received a 20-peso coin.
A few days ago, Alejandro received a commemorative 20-peso coin that was issued in 2021. It was minted to honor the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain. (The War of Independence began in 2010, but the war did not end until 2021.)
Under the words "Bicentenario de la Independencia Nacional" are the portraits of three of the most important figures in the war. To the left is Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest who began the struggle for independence on September 16th, 1810. Next to him is José María Morelos, who took up the leadership in the war after Hidalgo was captured and executed by the Spanish. Morelos was also captured and executed by the Spanish. The mantle of "Commander-in-Chief" of the insurgents passed to Vicente Guerrero, the third portrait on the coin. Guerrero survived to see Mexican win its independence and became the second President of the new nation. However, he was overthrown in a coup begun by his conservative Vice-President and executed in 1831.
Above the portraits is a small square which contains the image of the "Angel" (actually a "Winged Victory") which is atop the Monument to Independence in Mexico City. In very small print next to it is the word "Libertad".
The back side of the coin shows the eagle and the serpent which is the nation's coat of arms. The official name of the country "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (United Mexican States) appears above it.
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