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).

Depicts a portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, value and date on the left, mintmark on the right, name below.

Sor Juana wears the habit of her religious order, the Jeronymites. She also wears an escudo de monja, or nun’s badge, on her chest underneath her chin. Escudos de monja were often painted, occasionally woven, and they usually displayed the Virgin Mary. Sor Juana’s escudo shows the Annunciation, the moment in which the archangel Gabriel informs Mary that she will bear the son of God.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (English: Sister Joan Agnes of the Cross; 1648–1695), was a self-taught scholar and student of scientific thought, philosopher, composer, and poet of the Baroque school, and Hieronymite nun of New Spain (Mexico). She was known as a nun who demonstrated the courage to challenge opinions and speak out for her beliefs. Her outspoken opinion granted her lifelong names such as, "The Tenth Muse", "The Phoenix of America", or the "Mexican Phoenix". Sor Juana lived during Mexico's colonial period, making her a contributor both to early Mexican literature as well as to the broader literature of the Spanish Golden Age.