The obverse of the coin shows at its centre the Coat of Arms of Mexico, which depicts a Mexican (golden) eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, facing left, devouring a rattlesnake. The cactus is on a pedestal immersed in the Aztec symbol for water. Below, a wreath of oak and laurel leaves tied at its centre with a ribbon representing the flag of Mexico.
The design is rooted in the legend that the Aztec people would know where to build their city once they saw an eagle eating a snake on top of a lake. To the people of Tenochtitlan (the pre-European capital), this symbol had strong religious connotations, and to the Europeans it came to symbolise the triumph of good over evil (with the snake sometimes representative of the serpent in the Garden of Eden).
Around above, the legend ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS, meaning United Mexican States in Spanish - which is the full official name of Mexico.
Within a plain border, surrounding the Coat of Arms and the inscription is a wide rim in which there are ten more depictions of the Coat of Arms of Mexico, illustrating the different styles it had throughout its history (the oldest depicted on top is the prototype of the symbol as seen in the 1541 Codex Mendoza, then in chronological order clockwise). |
