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100 Gems - October birthstone opal
| Issuer | Mexico |
|---|---|
| Year | 2023 |
| Type | Fantasy banknote |
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| Obverse description | Art Nouveau-style vignette of a seated female figure with flowing auburn hair raising a luminous green opal sphere in her hands, set against a warm reddish-brown guilloche underprint. A central inset gemstone ornament with the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O appears at centre-right, flanked by a designer and cashier signature line. The denomination 100 / CIEN appears at lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 100 MEXICO CANTERA OPAL THE MEXICAN FIRE OPAL HUNDRED GEMS THIS NOTE IS NOT LEGAL TENDER 100 FIRE OPAL IS A TRANSPARENT TO TRANSLUCENT OPAL WITH WARM BODY COLORS OF YELLOW TO ORANGE TO RED. THE MOST FAMOUS SOURCE OF FIRE OPALS IS THE STATE OF QUERETARO IN MEXICO; THESE OPALS ARE COMMONLY CALLED MEXICAN FIRE OPALS. M.S37.175.H AHJ |
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| Comments |
Mexico's Banco de México has issued collectible polymer notes under the "100 Gems" program highlighting gemstones with cultural or geological significance to the region. Opal is a reasonable choice — Mexico is among the world's leading opal producers, with deposits in Querétaro state mined since pre-Columbian times and still commercially active today.
These are legal tender collector issues, not intended for general circulation, and the polymer substrate was chosen to allow printing effects that paper cannot achieve with translucent or iridescent stones as subject matter.