100 000 Pesos Pattern, aluminium

By 1990, Mexican inflation had eroded purchasing power so severely that the government was actively testing denominations that would have been unthinkable a decade earlier. This aluminium pattern was part of Casa de Moneda's material and denomination trials ahead of the 1993 redenomination, which ultimately replaced 1,000 old pesos with a single nuevo peso — wiping three zeros from the currency in one legislative stroke.

Aluminium was evaluated for high-denomination coinage primarily for cost reasons, but the metal's poor durability in circulation and its tendency to wear rapidly made it a non-starter for production. This piece never progressed beyond the pattern stage.