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 the portraits (in profile) of Miguel Hidalgo, Jose Maria Morelos, and Vicente Guerrero appear to the left. In the upper part, the Angel of the Column of Independence appears as a latent image and, to the left, the microtext reads FREEDOM. Surrounding the upper edge, the legend reads BICENTENNIAL OF MEXICO’S WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. The denomination "$20" appears on the exergue. The years "1821" and "2021" appear on the left- and right-hand side of the exergue, respectively. The mark of the Mexican Mint "M°" appears on the left side of the coin.

Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (1753–1811), more commonly known as Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.

José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón (1765–1815) was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811. Morelos along with Ignacio López Rayón are credited for the organizational stage of the war of independence. Under Morelos the Congress of Anáhuac was installed on September 13, 1813 and on November 6 of the same year, Congress declared the independence of the country. After a series of defeats, he was captured by the Spanish royalist military, tried by the Inquisition, defrocked as a cleric, and executed by civil authorities for treason in 1815. Morelos is a national hero in Mexico and is considered a very successful military leader despite the fact that he never took a military career and was instead a priest.

Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (1782–1831) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century and later served as President of Mexico, coming to power in a coup. He was of Afro-Mestizo descent, championed the cause of Mexico's common people, and abolished slavery during his brief term as president. His execution in 1831 by the conservative government that ousted him in 1829 was a shock to the nation.