As long as I've had an interest in Mexican money, I've had a curiosity about the nun who appears on many high denomination banknotes. In a recent flurry of fascination, I obtained a number of banknote examples, and one coin, featuring her portrait and did some reading about her life. Known as "Juana de Asbaje" and "Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz," she is considered one of the most important writers from the 17th century "New Spain" era. She wrote not only poems, music, plays, and essays, but also defenses of women's intelligence in an era when many felt that women should not pursue intellectual interests. Some, such as Octavio Paz, speculate that she entered a convent to escape the "domestic servitude" of 17th century marriage. Also known for her beauty, she turned down numerous marriage proposals. Becoming a nun did allow her to keep reading and writing, but when one of her most famous essays pushed too far, at least in the opinions of the time, all of her books and writing materials were confiscated and she was told to dedicate the rest of her life to penitent meditation. When plague hit New Spain, she caught the disease herself and died in 1695 at the age of 46 while caring for other plague victims. She achieved fame, and notoriety, in her lifetime and later became the subject of movies and telenovelas. None of the banknotes below have any great rarity and some may still even circulate. The 1999 banknote seemed harder to find in uncirculated condition, so I decided to buy a PMG certified example. I believe that these might represent all of the banknote types that she has so far appeared on, but let me know if I missed any. 1984 1000 Pesos 1999 200 Pesos 2016 200 Pesos 2020 100 Pesos For completion, she also appeared on a 1000 Peso coin in the late 1980s to the early 1990s. I haven't located any other coin types she has appeared on.
I think that's a great theme for a set from Mexico. I bought a revised version of your P-81 (P-85) printed a year later (1985) & featuring a "radiant quill pen over watermark area at left." It was inexpensive & you've made me interested in picking up other varieties. If I were putting a set of notes that featured the famous writer, I think I would be tempted to add the first series (P-70) from 1978/1979. The design has "El Banco De Mexico S.A." instead of just "El Banco De Mexico" & is different enough (serial numbers/signatures) to motivate me to put it side-by-side with the other varieties.
