Brits
in Cancun are happy to help you understand the Money
system in Cancun, which is Mexican Pesos or the US Dollar.
Peso bills come in 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 & 1000
denominations. The bills are different colours and sizes
so are easy to tell apart. The Mexican 10 Peso note
is very rare. The 20 Pesos note was the first of the
notes to be plastic, and has now been followed by the
50 pesos in Dec 2006
ATM's
in Mexico give PESO Notes, not US dollars as many people
believe, there are a few ATMs in Cancun that give US
Dollars provided that they have some in the machine.
Look for HSBC machines at KM4 close to the Captain Hook
Ships, KM5 close to Dolphin Discovery Office infront
of the BIG Mexican flag, KM9.5 in Plaza Forum and KM13
in Plaza Kukulcan.
1,
2, and 5 peso coins are round - silver with a golden
centre. 10 and 20 peso coins are also round, but golden
on the outside. Each smaller denomination round peso
coin is physically smaller than higher denomination
coins.
A
peso is worth 100 centavos - just like a pound is worth
100 pennies. The centavo pieces are one colour and octagonal
shaped and come in 10, 20 and 50 denominations. These
are actually rare to see, but becoming more common.
Watch
that $ sign
Mexicans use the $ symbol for the peso, just
like Americans use the $ sign for the dollar.
Sometimes price lists in Mexico will have MN beside
it for Moneda Nacional (national currency), but not
always. If you aren't sure if the prices are in pesos
or dollars, just ask.
Mexican
Bank Notes
 Zapata,
Emiliano (1877-1919) was a legendary Mexican revolutionary
leader and agrarian reformer. Born in San Miguel Anenecuilco
in Morelos State, an illiterate tenant farmer of almost
pure Indian blood, he recruited an army of Indians
from villages and haciendas in Morelos. Under the
rallying cry Land and Liberty they joined the
Mexican revolutionist Francisco Madero in the 1910
revolt against the Mexican soldier-statesman Porfirio
Díaz.
Madero
assumed presidency in 1911 however Zapata and his
followers soon rejected Madero who failed to uphold
his word. Zapata then formulated his agrarian reform
plan; known as the Plan of Ayala. This plan called
for the land to be redistributed among the Indians.
With
the Mexican revolutionary general Francisco [Poncho]
Villa, Zapata marched on Mexico City, entering it
the first of three times in 1914. The following year
Zapata withdrew to Morelos where, still resisting,
he later was ruthlessly assassinated by an agent of
Carranza, a lowly Mexican statesman.
Although
regarded as a pillaging bandit by his enemies, Zapata
was idolized by the Indians as a true revolutionary
reformer and hero; his life has inspired countless
legends, movies and books. Viva Zapatista!
Juarez, Benito Pablo (1806-72), national hero
and president of Mexico (1861-63 and 1867-72).
Juarez
was born of Indian parents on March 21, 1806, near
the town of Oaxaca and was educated in law.
He
became governor of the state of Oaxaca in 1847 but
was imprisoned when the Mexican general Antonio de
Santa Anna seized the national government in 1853.
He
escaped to the U.S. but returned to Mexico in 1855
to take part in the revolution that overthrew Santa
Anna.
Juarez
became minister of justice in the newly established
government and instituted a series of reforms that
were embodied in the constitution of 1857.
In
1858 Juarez became provisional president after the
outbreak of a revolt but soon afterward he was forced
to flee the national capital, Mexico City, and established
a new seat of government in Veracruz. He initiated
a number of sweeping reforms, including the reduction
of the civil power of the Roman Catholic church by
confiscating ecclesiastical property. He defeated
the opposing forces in 1860 and 1861 then established
his government in Mexico City where he was constitutionally
elected president.
After
five years of civil war and facing economic chaos
Juarez suspended payments to foreign creditors. France,
Spain, and Great Britain intervened, and landed troops
at Veracruz. Juarez reached a settlement with Great
Britain and Spain; those countries withdrew from Mexico,
but the French remained and captured Mexico City.
Maximilian,
archduke of Austria, the puppet of Emperor Napoleon
III of France, was crowned emperor of Mexico in 1864.
Juarez then moved his capital to the north and continued
military resistance until Maximilian's government
fell in 1867.
Juarez
returned to Mexico City and was reelected president.
Juarez died of apoplexy on July 18, 1872, in Mexico
City. He is regarded as one of the greatest heroes
in Mexican history.
Morelos y Pavón, José María (1765-1815), Mexican
priest, who led the independence movement after the
execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
Morelos
was born in present-day Morelia, Michoacán. Ordained
in 1797, he was a parish priest until he joined Hidalgo's
rebellion in 1810. Given a military commission, he
soon gained control of a wide territory in central
Mexico and by 1812 he was recognized as the leader
of the rebellion.
He
and his troops captured Acapulco in 1813. Later that
year he sponsored the Congress of Chilpancingo, which
issued a declaration of independence, promulgated
a constitution. Morelos was appointed generalissimo
of the insurgent government.
Royalist
forces captured him in November 1815, convicted of
heresy and defrocked by the Inquisition, he was then
turned over to the church and executed.
Nezahualcoyote was the son of Ixtlilxóchitl,
King of Texcoco from 1409 until 1418. Defeated in
battle by Tezozómoc, Ixtlilxóchitl retreated to the
jungle where his enemies pursued him. A valiant struggle
ensued when he was found and he was killed in full
view of his young son, Nezahualcoyote, who was hiding
in a tree. This heir to the throne of Texcoco managed
to escape the soldiers of Tezozómoc and found sanctuary
across the mountains to the east.
As
legend has it Tezozómoc had his soldiers ask every
child in Texcoco, 'Who is your king?' When the little
children answered either 'Ixtlilxóchitl' or 'Nezahualcoyote,'
they were immediately butchered.
Several
thousand children were put to death before parents
taught their children to fear the name of Tezozómoc.
In 1420, at the age of one hundred, Tezozómoc died
and Nezahualcoyote came to rule the city of Texcoco
until 1472.
To
a considerable extent Texcoco's strength was owing
to the legacy of Nezahualcoyote. Not only was he renowned
for his military exploits, Nezahualcoyote is recalled
for his cultural refinement. Renowned for his philosophical
verse, this "Poet King of Texcoco" was also a wise
legislator and an impartial judge. In addition he
was also an engineer who was instrumental in the construction
of the great aqueduct, which brought water to Tenochititlán
from the mainland and of a long dike across the lake.
He
was a scholar and book collector, his Texcoco, "the
Athens of Anáhuac," had libraries housing thousands
of manuscripts.
Nezahualcoyote
died in 1472 and is remembered as one of the great
Indian Kings.
Juana Inès de La Cruz (1651-95), Mexican poet
and scholar.
She
was born in San Miguel and largely self-educated.
She learned to read at the age of three. In her teens,
she served as a lady-in-waiting at the court of the
viceroy of New Spain. She was renowned for her beauty,
wit, intelligence, and learning. After several years,
she abandoned her court lifestyle to become a nun.
As
a nun, Juana de la Cruz studied theology, literature,
history, music, and science. She wrote poetry that
earned her the sobriquet "The Tenth Muse". Her writings,
comprising lyric and allegorical poems and religious
and secular dramas, were published in Spain between
1689 and 1700.
Ignacio Zaragoza was the Mexican general commanding
the Mexican troops in the battle against the French.
Shortly
after the Spanish and British troops withdrew their
armies from Mexico, the French army, began to march
inland on its war of occupation. In Puebla a decisive
battle was fought and won by General Zaragoza'a brave
soldiers.
The
dejected French invaders, many veterans from more
glorious days in Crimea war, retreated to lick their
wounds in Orizaba. May
5 - Cinco de Mayo - would be added to the national
calendar of holidays in honor of the great Mexican
victory. Mexicans
won the battle of Puebla that day, the French returned
a year later with thirty thousand fresh troops, and
after encircling Puebla and reducing the city to rubble
with heavy bombardment, finally captured Puebla.
 This
note is rarely seen unless you obtain large ampunts
of money directly from a bank, and features Don Miguel
Hidalgo, in full Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo
y Costilla Mandarte Villaseñor y Lomelí
(8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), was the chief instigator
of Mexico's war of independence against Spain.
Hidalgo was a criollo (Mexican of
pure Spanish ancestry), and the parish priest of Dolores,
now called Dolores Hidalgo, a small town in the modern-day
central Mexican state of Guanajuato. He was a keen reader
of banned French literature and was an avid nonconformist.
He learned several indigenous languages and openly defied
many aspects of Catholic rule including that of sexual
abstinence for the clergy. In the mining region of central
Mexico Miguel Hidalgo and other Creoles of high society
started conspiring for a considerable uprising of mestizos
and indigenous peasants.
Alerted by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez
("La Corregidora") that his revolutionary
plot had been discovered and that he would soon be arrested
for his conspiring, he brought his plans forward and,
with the Grito de Dolores delivered in religious language
and from the belfry of his defence against the usurpers
of authority and the enemies of Fernando VII. Doing
this Hidalgo started the great revolt of 1810. His battle
cry was: "Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe, and
Death to the Spaniards!" Hidalgo, and his unruly
followers dispersed after only a few months. Hidalgo
himself was captured, forced publicly to repent, and
then was executed for his crimes. Hidalgo is remembered
even today as the great liberator of Mexico and the
Father of the Nation.
Coins
| Value |
Coin |
Description |
| 5¢ |
 |
Diameter:
15.5 mm. Weight: 1.58 g.
Edge: no milling.
Metal:
stainless steel.
Withdrawn
from circulation in 2004?
|
| 10¢ |
 |
Diameter:
17 mm. Weight: 2.08 g.
Edge: no milling.
Metal:
stainless steel
|
| 20¢ |
 |
Diameter:
19.5 mm. Weight: 3.04 g.
Edge: scalloped.
Metal:
92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
|
| 50¢ |
 |
Diameter:
22 mm. Weight: 4.39 g.
Edge: scalloped.
Metal:
92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
|
| $1 |
 |
Diameter:
21mm. Weight: 3.95 g.
Edge: no milling.
Metal:
bimetallic
outer: stainless steel
inner: 92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
|
| $2 |
 |
Diameter:
23 mm. Weight: 5.19 g.
Edge: no milling.
Metal:
bimetallic
outer: stainless steel
inner: 92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
Design:
outer ring depicts "ring of days" from Calendar.
|
| $5 |
 |
Diameter:
25.5 mm. Weight: 7.07 g.
Edge: no milling.
Metal:
bimetallic
outer: stainless steel
inner: 92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
Design:outer
ring depicts "ring of serpents" from Calendar
|
| $10 |
 |
Diameter:
28 mm. Weight: 11.18 g.
Edge: milled (special 2001 millennium issue has
inscription on edge).
Metal:
Bimetallic:
outer: 92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
inner: 65% Cu, 10% Ni, 25% Zn (early editions,
prior to 1995, had silver instead of this alloy)
Design:
inner circle depictsTonatiuh from centre of
Calendar.
|
| $20 |
 |
Metal:
bimetallic:
outer: 92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni
inner: Silver
Design:
depicts Miguel Hidalgo.
Two
special 2000 variants feature: Aztec New Fire
Ceremony or Octavio Paz.
|
|
