New $1,000 Peso Banknote Introduced in Mexico

As part of an ongoing program to update the current series of Mexican bank notes, the Bank of Mexico launched a new $1,000 peso bill on November 19, 2020, replacing the current design that was launched in April 2008.  This is the highest-denomination Mexican bank note in public circulation.

New $1,000-peso banknote features

The new $1,000 peso bill is presented in hues of teal and yellow.  The face of the new note shows three protagonists from Mexico’s revolutionary era, Francisco I. Madero, Hermila Galindo, and Carmen Serdán; in the background is a steam-driven locomotive—the principal form of transport during that time.  The reverse side of the new banknote features the sub-tropical jungles of southern Mexico, in particular a protected national park in the state of Campeche, ancient Maya ruins, and a jaguar—the iconic cat of that region.  The new bill is printed on cotton-based security paper, unlike the new $100 peso banknote released in the same month this year that is printed on polymer plastic.

Not commonly seen and used

The $1,000 peso bill is not commonly seen in circulation.  ATMs don’t usually dispense them, and they are notoriously difficult to spend at small shops, independent traders, and market stalls who often refuse to accept the bills, either because they ‘rob’ the trader’s float of change, or due to fear of it being a counterfeit.

Part of a new design series

This is the fourth in a new series of bills being rolled-out by Mexico’s central bank.  On August 28, 2018 the Bank of Mexico introduced a redesigned $500 peso bill. and on September 2, 2019 the latest $200 peso bill was placed into circulation.  Earlier this month, the central bank issued a new $100 peso bill.  A new version of the current $50 peso banknote design is expected in the next year.  The current $20 peso bank note continues to circulate, and the new, 12-sided, $20 peso coin launched in April 2020 has yet to be widely seen in circulation.

Mexico’s banknotes have become increasingly sophisticated over the years in a bid to thwart counterfeiters, and this latest series builds on advances in bank note technology.  You can learn more about the new note on the bank’s website.

It takes time for new bank notes to enter physical circulation and the current $1000 peso bill will remain legal tender until further notice.  After the Bank of Mexico withdraws a bank note from circulation, genuine notes can be exchanged at retail banks for a while, and indefinitely afterwards at the Bank of Mexico itself.

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