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20 Quetzales
| Issuer | Banco de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948-1954 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Quetzales |
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| Obverse description | Blue intaglio print on white cotton paper. At left, an oval portrait vignette of the Jesuit poet Rafael Landívar in clerical dress, his name inscribed below. At centre, a large dark oval underprint carries the denomination numeral '20' flanked by quetzal birds in flight, with the legend 'VEINTE QUETZALES' in bold letterpress below. The date '15 Septiembre 1948' appears vertically at right, with three facsimile signature lines across the lower portion identifying the Tesorero, Gerente, and Presidente del Tribunal y de Caja. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO DE GUATEMALA 20 FIRMA DEL ACTA DE LA INDEPENDENCIA VEINTE QUETZALES AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
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| Comments |
Banco de Guatemala was established in 1946 as the country's new central bank, replacing the earlier Banco Central de Guatemala following monetary reforms under President Juan José Arévalo. This note belongs to the earliest emission series produced for that institution, with the American Bank Note Company supplying the full range of denominations during a period when Guatemala was overhauling its financial infrastructure almost from scratch.
The 20 Quetzal denomination was never a high-circulation note — its face value placed it well above everyday transactional use in 1948 Guatemala, where it would have moved primarily through commercial and government channels.