Depicts the seal of the United Mexican States.

The Seal of the United Mexican States is a modified version of the national coat of arms, with the addition of the full official name of the country Estados Unidos Mexicanos, in a semi-circular accommodation in the upper part of the seal. Current and past Mexican peso coinage have had the seal engraved on the obverse of all denominations.

The coat of arms depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. To the people of Tenochtitlan this would have strong religious connotations, but to the Europeans, it would come to symbolize the triumph of good over evil (with the snake sometimes representative of the serpent in the Garden of Eden).

Mariano Matamoros (1770-1814) was a priest that supported the insurgency cause, for which he was imprisoned by the viceregal government at the beginning of the uprising. In 1811, he escaped prison and joined the insurgent forces of Morelos. In a short time, he demonstrated military talents in the battles of Cuautla, Izucar, and Oaxaca, among others. Captured in the attempt to take Valladolid, he was executed by firing squad in February 1814. Along with Galeana, Matamoros was one of Morelos' two most distinguished officers.