Catalog
1 Quetzal
| Issuer | Banco de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 2006 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Quetzal |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Optically variable ink, Transparent window |
| Protection description | Large hexagonal optically variable ink (OVI) element on the obverse that shifts colour on tilting; a hexagonal transparent window integrated into the polymer substrate, visible on both sides of the note. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Guatemala's move to polymer for the 1 Quetzal came as part of a broader regional shift toward substrate modernization in the early 2000s, with the Canadian Bank Note Company supplying polymer notes to several Latin American central banks during this period. The transparent window on this denomination was a deliberate choice for the lowest-value circulating note — high-turnover bills suffer the most abuse, and polymer's resistance to moisture and tearing made the 1 Quetzal a logical test case for the technology in Guatemala's humid lowland markets.
CBN's Ottawa facility handled both printing and the optically variable ink application in a single production run.