2001 1 Oz Mexican Endangered Species Prairie Dog BU

Rare!

Obverse: The central feature on the obverse is the Coat of arms of Mexico. It depicts a Mexican golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. This imagery relates to the founding of Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City. The coat of arms is rooted in the legend where the god Huitzilopotchli told the Aztec people where to build their city where they saw an eagle eating a snake on top of a cactus. The bottom half of the coat of arms has oak and laurel leaves encircling the eagle. The top half has the words "ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS" encircling the eagle. Ten previous versions of the Mexican coat of arms surround the current one.

Reverse: The central feature on the reverse is the image of a prairie dog on alert near its burrow. It is located within a triangular-shaped decoration. The denomination of $5 can be found to the right while the year "2001" is located at the left. An inscription at the upper left gives the Latin name while the common name is found right above it. The Mexican mint mark "O/M" can be found at the bottom.