Jim McMahon/Mapman®
Some cash may be too adorable to spend. Take Mexico’s 50-peso note, which is worth about $3. It features the axolotl (AK-suh-lah-tl), a salamander native to Mexico. Bills with the amphibian have become prized keepsakes since their debut in 2021.
A recent study by Mexico’s central bank estimates that more than 11 million Mexicans are holding on to the axolotl bills, and nearly 2 million more people are actively collecting them. Some citizens reported stashing away 20 bills or more!
Most people save the bills because they love the design, but some see them as a way to make fast cash. The first axolotl bills that were printed can sell for up to 100 times their face value.
The money spotlights a critically endangered creature. Wild axolotls survive only in canals in southern Mexico City.
Diana Laura Vázquez Mendoza is a biologist in Mexico. She hopes the bills’ popularity will inspire people to support habitat conservation. “This kind of cultural visibility can make a difference,” she says. “It reminds people that this species is real, fragile, and tied deeply to the identity of Mexico."
—Mary Kate Frank