1 Centavo

Guatemala switched to brass for this issue after wartime restrictions on strategic metals made pure copper coinage impractical — the same pressures that pushed dozens of Allied and neutral nations to reformulate their minor coinage between 1942 and 1945. The 30% zinc alloy was a deliberate compromise, balancing durability against available supply chains disrupted by the Pacific and Atlantic theaters.

KM#251 covers only the 1943 and 1944 dates before the composition shifted again postwar.