Catalog
0.50 Quetzal
| Issuer | Banco de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1996 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Quetzal (1925-date) |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Tecun Uman — last ruler of the K'iche' Maya and Guatemalan national hero — occupies the right field, rendered in profile bust with an elaborate feathered headdress against a stele-like architectural element. At left, a stylized Mayan glyph underprint in green and red flanks the denomination numeral Q0.50, while a quetzal bird in flight appears in the upper centre. The bank title and country inscription run along the top border, with the authorization date and printer's imprint incorporated into the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO DE GUATEMALA GUATEMALA, CENTRO AMERICA CINCUENTA CENTAVOS DE QUETZAL Q0.50 AUTORIZACION 28 AGOSTO 1996 1/2 HARRISON AND SONS - TECUN UMAN HEROE NACIONAL (Translation: Bank of Guatemala Guatemala, Central America Fifty Centavos of a Quetzal 0.50 Quetzal) |
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| Comments |
Harrison & Sons closed in 1997, the year after this note was printed — the firm had been producing banknotes and stamps since the Victorian era, and Guatemala was among its last active clients. The contract work for Banco de Guatemala continued right up to the end, with no successor printer inheriting the relationship; subsequent Guatemalan issues moved to other security printers.
Pick 96 belongs to a long-running quetzal series that saw relatively few design revisions across the 1980s and 1990s, making printer attribution the more significant distinguishing detail for this particular date.