Around the World: Environmentally Friendly Coins for Mexico
Mexico’s transition from bank notes to coins and more sustainable minting reflects how modern currency must balance durability, cost, and environmental goals.
Identifying the workhorse currency denomination of an economy is important. Whatever that denomination may be, it is important that the coins or bank notes used to represent it are sufficiently durable to survive circulation for a significant period of time.
In Mexico, the MX$20 denomination is that workhorse; it has an exchange rate valued at $1.14. This makes sense, since the dollar is generally accepted to be the flagship denomination in circulation in the neighboring United States.
The MX$20 has been issued as coins made from silver, silver plug with a ringed bimetal, and gold, and a bank note. In 2021, the MX$20 polymer composition note, on which a vignette of Benito Juárez appears, began to be withdrawn in favor of a 12-sided coin. The coin was first introduced two years earlier as part of a limited-edition commemorative MX$20 bank note and coin duo. Both continue to circulate, but the coin has gained traction, while the note is no longer being produced by Mexico’s mint, La Casa de Moneda de Mexico.
In December 2025, Banxico, the Banco de México, announced that the Mexican mint was to transition to more sustainable production practices. Unless you understand metallurgy, it may appear to be trivial to replace coins now made with a bronze-aluminum alloy with bronze-plated steel.
Banxico Director Victoria Rodríguez said, “In essence they are the same: they have the same weight, the same dimensions, the same design and are prepared to be accepted in all equipment that accepts coins.” However, the shift will reduce production costs through lower metal acquisition expenses and support environmental objectives tied to responsible sourcing and circular-economy practices.
The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM), European Central Bank, and eurozone national central banks have recently incorporated similar metal composition changes to make environmentally friendly coinage. These changes are meant to reduce their carbon footprint while promoting sustainable supply chains. Two years ago, RCM began using an electroplating process that avoids the use of toxic chemicals, such as cyanide, when producing bronze-plated circulation coins. This electroplating process is safer, more efficient, and cost-effective since it doesn’t require strong oxidizers and allows for better chemical management.
Top environmentally friendly coinage materials currently in use are aluminum, recycled copper and brass, bronze-plated steel, and recycled precious metals. Aluminum can be recycled without losing quality or malleability. Recycled copper and brass are considered to be highly sustainable and durable. Bronze-plated steel is already in use by a number of mints as a sustainable mix. Reusing gold and silver is environmentally friendly since it eliminates some of the demand for freshly mined precious metals.
Metals, including nickel, steel, and zinc, remain popular as coinage metals due to their potential circulation lifespan and durability.
Rodríguez explained there are MX$3.2 trillion in coins and bank notes currently circulating in Mexico, an 8% increase from the same period a year earlier. There is an additional campaign to get more of these “forgotten coins” back into circulation. This too will help the environment since that is less coinage the government needs to mint.
According to Rodriguez, “It is a campaign that invites people to use forgotten coins, the ones left in drawers or pockets. It is not the first time Banxico has launched these campaigns. There is no shortage of coins; it is simply an invitation to use those already in circulation.”
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