Rafael Carrera ruled Guatemala as a caudillo of extraordinary longevity — from the late 1830s until his death in 1865 — having seized power as an illiterate pig farmer leading a peasant rebellion against the liberal reforms of Mariano Gálvez. By 1859, when this fractional silver issue entered production, he had consolidated the country as a nominal republic while exercising effectively absolute authority. The Central American Federation had long since collapsed, and Guatemala was striking its own coinage independently for the first time in a generation.
KM#131 was minted in Guatemala City under consistently difficult refining conditions, which accounts for the slight variation in fineness documented across the type.
Rafael Carrera ruled Guatemala as a caudillo of extraordinary longevity — from the late 1830s until his death in 1865 — having seized power as an illiterate pig farmer leading a peasant rebellion against the liberal reforms of Mariano Gálvez. By 1859, when this fractional silver issue entered production, he had consolidated the country as a nominal republic while exercising effectively absolute authority. The Central American Federation had long since collapsed, and Guatemala was striking its own coinage independently for the first time in a generation.
KM#131 was minted in Guatemala City under consistently difficult refining conditions, which accounts for the slight variation in fineness documented across the type.