Catalog
1 Peso
| Issuer | Tesorería Nacional de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Reference(s) | P#1 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark blue-black ink on cream paper, with the issuer's title 'LA TESORERÍA NACIONAL DE GUATEMALA' in an arched banner across the top. At centre, an oval intaglio portrait vignette of a bearded gentleman in formal dress is flanked by a second oval vignette containing the Guatemalan national coat of arms. Two allegorical female figures in classical dress occupy the lower-left and lower-right corners, framing the central panel. The denomination 'UN PESO' is set in bold letterpress below the portrait vignettes, with a manuscript promise to pay 'Páguese a portador' and handwritten signatures of treasury officials along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | PAGUE EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE GUATEMALA UNO 1 1 |
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| Comments |
Guatemala's first nationally issued paper peso, printed before the country had established its own fiscal infrastructure capable of handling note production domestically. The Tesorería Nacional — the national treasury, not a central bank — was the issuing body, a distinction that matters: these notes circulated on the government's direct credit rather than through any banking intermediary, a fragile arrangement in a country where silver coin still dominated everyday exchange and paper remained deeply distrusted.
ABNC's New York workshops produced the plates; Pick 1 status means nothing preceded it in standardized Guatemalan national paper currency.