A stunning bimetallic commemorative coin issued by the Bank of Mexico to celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2026, one of three host nations alongside the USA and Canada. This dodecagonal (12-sided) 20 Pesos piece honors Guadalajara — Mexico's second city and a proud host venue — through the iconic Glorieta de la Minerva, the roundabout crowned by a sculpture of the Roman goddess of wisdom.

Obverse

• Design: Mexican coat of arms
• Inscription: ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS (United Mexican States)
• Script: Latin

Reverse

• Design: A soccer player with a ball alongside the sculpture of the goddess Minerva at the Glorieta de la Minerva roundabout
• Inscriptions: COPA MUNDIAL DE LA FIFA 2026™ (upper border); GLORIETA DE LA MINERVA (lower border); $20; FIFA 26 GUADALAJARA™ logo; mintmark M°
• Security features: Microtext MEXICO TRIPLE WORLD CUP HOST; latent image of the silhouette of the Republic of Mexico
• Script: Latin

Other Characteristics

• Catalog numbers: Numista N#581115
• Composition: Bimetallic — copper-nickel center in aluminium bronze ring
• Weight: 12.67 g
• Diameter: 30 mm
• Shape: Dodecagonal (12-sided)
• Technique: Milled
• Orientation: Coin alignment ↑↓
• Issuing entity: Bank of Mexico (Banco de México)
• Mint: Mexican Mint (Casa de Moneda de México), Mexico City (est. 1535)
• Issued: May 13, 2026
• Currency: New Peso (1992–date)

The City of Minerva

Guadalajara — Mexico's second-largest city and capital of Jalisco — is home to one of the country's most beloved urban landmarks: the Glorieta de la Minerva. The neoclassical statue of Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, has stood at this roundabout since 1956, becoming an enduring symbol of tapatío (Guadalajaran) identity. The inscription on her base reads Trabajo, Justicia y Libertad — Work, Justice, and Liberty.

Guadalajara is also the birthplace of mariachi music and tequila (the town of Tequila lies just 65 km away), making it arguably the most culturally Mexican of all Mexican cities. For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Estadio Akron hosted group stage and knockout matches, cementing the city's place in football history as part of Mexico's record-setting third World Cup hosting.

About Mexico

• Origin of name: From the Nahuatl Mēxihco, the heartland of the Mexica (Aztec) people — likely derived from Mētztli (moon), xictli (navel/center), and -co (place): "place at the center/navel of the moon," referring to Lake Texcoco
• Capital: Mexico City — pop. ~9.2 million city / ~21.6 million metro (one of the largest cities on Earth)
  • Origin of name: Named after the Mexica people; the city was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital
• Population: ~130 million (UN 2024) — roughly the combined population of California, Texas, and Florida
• Area: 1,964,375 km² (758,449 mi²) — comparable to Western Europe
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$23,000 USD (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: Manufactured goods (vehicles, electronics), crude oil, agricultural products (avocados, tomatoes, beer)
• Borders: USA (north); Guatemala and Belize (south)
• Official language: Spanish (de facto); 68 recognized indigenous languages
• Ethnicities: Mestizo (~62%), Indigenous (~21%), White Mexican (~10%), other
• Memberships: UN (founding member, 1945); OECD (1994); G20; USMCA (2020); OAS
• Sovereignty: Independence from Spain declared September 16, 1810; recognized 1821; current constitution 1917

Mexico Unfiltered

• Mexico is the world's largest producer of avocados — supplying over 30% of global output, with Michoacán alone producing more than most countries.
• The Aztec capital Tenochtitlán was larger than any European city when Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519 — with an estimated population of 200,000–300,000.
• Mexico City is sinking — at up to 50 cm per year in some areas — because it was built on a drained lakebed and the aquifer beneath it is being depleted.
• Mexico has hosted the FIFA World Cup three times (1970, 1986, 2026) — the only nation to do so as of this coin's issue date, sharing 2026 hosting duties with the USA and Canada.
• The Mexican Mint (Casa de Moneda de México), which struck this coin, is the oldest mint in the Americas, founded in 1535 — nearly 90 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
• Mexico is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, hosting ~10–12% of all species on Earth despite covering only ~1.3% of the planet's surface.

Own this coin and hold a piece of football history — struck by the oldest mint in the Americas to commemorate Mexico's unprecedented third World Cup hosting, through the eyes of Guadalajara's beloved goddess of wisdom.