Mexico's Sor Juana 100-Peso Bill Wins 'Banknote of the Year'

The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) hailed Mexico's Sor Juana 100-peso bill as 2020's banknote of the year.

The IBNS noted that the voting membership has selected the Bank of Mexico, as printer and issuer of the note, to receive its annual prestigious "Bank Note of the Year Award" for 2020. The Bank of Mexico has beat 24 other nominees from different countries.

The Sor Juana 100-peso bill was among the more than 100 new banknotes released worldwide last year. Among these numbers, 24 were only identified to have a sufficiently new design to be member nominated.

An initiative of the IBNS with around 2,000 members globally, the IBNS Banknote of the Year award is given to recognize an exceptional banknote issued each year.

Celebrating its 60th year, the IBNS is a non-profit educational organization that aims to promote and advance the study, collection, and dissemination of information related to paper money.

Mexico's Sor Juana Peso Bill

From the start, Mexico's new 100-peso polymer bill widely led the voting, followed by Scotland's Royal Bank of Scotland 20-pound entry, Mexico News Daily reported.

There was a virtual tie for third place between 20-pound flora/street musicians of Northern Ireland's Ulster Bank, the 5-dollar statesman/junkanoo dancer of the Bahamas, and Fiji's 50-dollar 50th Anniversary of Independence.

Rounding out the top seven were the Bank of England's 20-pound Queen/J.M.W. Turner with painting and the 20-pound Robert the Bruce/St. Kilda of Scotland's Clydesdale Bank.

As a first-time winner, the IBNS said that Mexico's award-winning entry might provide a template as other countries reconsider how they design and promote new banknotes.

It noted that Mexico has successfully designed an eye-pleasing red bill that combines Hispanic architecture, a famous female Hispanic literary figure, and a tribute to the world's fragile ecosystem.

Mexico's 100 Peso Bill design

In a statement, the IBNS said the Sor Juana peso bill is part of the Bank of Mexico's current G Series introduced in 2018.

The IBNS said the design of the Sor Juana peso bill continued to highlight the Mexican cultural and historical characteristics with new graphic motifs.

It noted that the vertical format note, which is printed on polymer, features one of Mexico's national icon and poet/writer Sor Juana Indes de la Cruz, the historical College of San Ildefonso, and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve on its reverse.

Sor Juana, born in 1651, was known to be a self-educated nun and intellectual renowned for her poetic and writing works and political activism during her time. Sor Juana also criticized the misogyny of colonial Mexico.

Only 10 women have appeared on Mexico's currency, as opposed to 46 men since 1969. Only three have been historically significant namely Sor Juana, Frida Kahlo, and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez.

With significantly improved security features, the Sor Juana 100-peso bill was printed in the new printing complex of the Bank of Mexico located in Jalisco, which started to operate just before the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico's Sor Juana 100-peso bill is now among the roster of IBNS' banknote of the year winners, such as Aruba's 100-florin note in 2019 and Canada's 10-dollar bill in 2018.

Banknotes nominated by members must have artistic merit and innovative security features and have been issued to the public for the first time during the year of the award.

WATCH: Mexico 100 Pesos IBNS Banknote of the Year 2020 - The IBNS