1/4 Quetzal

Guatemala's 1925 coinage reform replaced the peso system with the quetzal, pegged at parity with the U.S. dollar under pressure from American banking interests and the United Fruit Company's dominance over the national economy. The fractional silver pieces issued that year were among the first physical expressions of the new currency, struck at the Philadelphia Mint under contract.

The .720 fine silver specification matched U.S. subsidiary coinage standards exactly — a deliberate alignment that facilitated exchange in a country where U.S. dollars already circulated freely alongside local issues.