The Bank of Mexico launched a new $1,000 peso bank note on April 7, 2008. The new bill continues to feature the face of Miguel Hidalgo, the “Father of Mexican Independence”, although the design and colors have been updated. When stores no longer accept the old-style notes, they can still be exchanged for new ones at banks or the Bank of Mexico.
The bill is part of a new series of bank notes which began with the re-design of the $50 and $20 peso bills, both of which are printed on polymer, a type of plastic-paper. The new $1,000 peso bill, and the re-design of the $100, $200 and $500 peso bills which are part of the new series will not be printed on polymer; they will be printed on high security bank note paper.
A key feature of the new bank notes is that they lay aside the hitherto artistic, Aztec-like, look of previous Mexican bank notes and replace it with subtle symmetrical lines, highly contemporary fonts, and clear ‘tabs’ at each end of the note, clearly displaying the bill’s numerical denomination. The new bank notes also include a range of state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting measures.
To date, there appears to have been precious-few $1,000 peso notes seen in regular circulation. The largest denomination bill seen with any frequency is the $500 peso bill. Change is sometimes difficult to get hold of in Mexico and handing over a $500 peso bill in a coffee shop, taxi cab, or small store may already be challenged with the question, ‘Do you have a smaller bill?’; so handing over $1,000 may be even more tricky in that respect. The best place to change large denomination bills in Mexico is at major supermarkets, department stores, and gasoline stations.
Connect to our Guide to Money in Mexico for a detailed introduction to Mexico’s currency.
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