Catalog
1 Peso
| Issuer | Tesorería Nacional de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company |
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| 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 description | The reverse is printed entirely in blue-green ink, with an intricate guilloche lathe-work pattern filling the field. A large numeral '1' appears twice in ornate cartouches at left and right, with the word 'UNO' inscribed between them at centre. The legend 'PAGUE EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE GUATEMALA' runs along the upper margin within the border design. A circular treasury seal impression is visible at the lower left. |
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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.