Axolotl love: Mexicans hoard 50 peso notes starring cute creature

For most of her life, Gorda was just an axolotl who lived in a museum in Mexico City - that is, until she became the star of the country's favourite banknote.

- Thomas Graham

The note, which features Gorda as the model for Mexico’s aquatic salamanders, went into circulation in 2021, dazzling the judges of the International Bank Note Society, who declared it the note of the year.

Four years later, the Bank of Mexico has released a report revealing that 12.9 million Mexicans are holding on to this note as if it were worth more than just its value of 50 pesos, or just over £2. Indeed, millions are hoarding more than one.