The Bank of Mexico announced on Wednesday that the new 20-peso coin commemorating the 500th anniversary of the founding of the port city of Veracruz is now in circulation, according to a recently-published article.

Made out of a mix of metals--nickel, silver, bronze, and aluminum, and is dodecagonal or has 12 sides, the new 20-peso coin is slightly smaller, thinner and lighter than previously-minted, completely round 20-peso coins.

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According to the Bank of Mexico, the newly-released coin has a diameter of 30 millimeters, a thickness of 2.4mm, and tip the scales just under 12.7 grams. Meanwhile, the 20-peso coin that has been put into circulation over the last 27 years is larger, measuring 32mm from side to side, is 2.75mm thick, and weighs almost 16 grams.

The reverse side of the new coin features images of the original Veracruz town hall, which is still in use as the municipal palace, and a 16th-century ship that would remind you of the one used by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés as he sailed to the Gulf coast in 1519. The coin's perimeter is embedded with the words "500 years of the foundation of the city and port of Veracruz."

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Meanwhile, the 20-peso banknote, which still exists side by side with the new coin, features in the obverse side a portrait of Benito Juárez, the twenty-sixth president of the Mexican Republic who fought in the Reform War. You can also spot on the coin a balance that represents the people and justice above the law reform and the bird.

According to the central bank, they plan to phase out the 20-peso banknote.

Like all of Mexico's coins, the obverse side of the new 20-peso coin features Mexico's coat of arms--an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus engulfing a rattlesnake. On the top half of the coin's obverse side perimeter, Mexico's official name, Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or the United Mexican States, is embedded.

The new coin also features more security features than its predecessors of the same denomination, such as a "micro-inscription" of "500 VERACRUZ" and a "latent image" of the number 20 that can only be seen if you tilt the coin.



The central bank's announcement that the new coin had entered circulation follows its confirmation a few days ago that the release of the new 100-peso note will proceed as planned in the second half of the year.

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In 2018, the bank announced that it intended to release a new family of bills that pay homage to Mexico's identity and heritage.

The central bank had already released a new 500-peso note in August 2018 and a new 200-peso bill last September. In 2022, a new 50-peso note is scheduled for release.

In some establishments in border areas of the United States such as some border Walmart stores, some border gas stations such as Circle K, and the La Bodega supermarkets in San Ysidro on the Tijuana border, Mexican pesos are accepted as currency.

In 2007, Pizza Patrón, a chain of pizza restaurants in the southwestern part of the U.S., started to accept the currency, which sparked controversy in the United States.

Apart from the U.S., Guatemalan, and Belizean border towns, the Mexican peso is generally not accepted as a currency outside of Mexico.