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| Issuer | Banco de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943-1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Centavos (0.25 GTQ) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central design features a detailed outline map of Guatemala occupying most of the field, with a resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) perched atop a stone column or post at upper left, its elongated tail plumes cascading downward along the left side of the map. The legend REPÚBLICA DE GUATEMALA is inscribed in two lines across the lower portion of the field in bold raised lettering. The overall composition combines the national bird and national territory in a design characteristic of Guatemalan coinage of the mid-twentieth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Guatemala's wartime silver coinage of 1943–44 reflects the broader hemispheric shift in monetary policy during World War II, when silver remained viable for subsidiary coinage while base metals were increasingly diverted to the Allied war effort. The Banco de Guatemala, established only in 1926 after decades of currency chaos under private bank concessions, was still a relatively young institution managing a monetary system that had been unified less than two decades prior.
The .720 fine standard was already a concession — Guatemala had previously struck silver at higher fineness — and the alloy choice here mirrors decisions made across Latin American mints during the same years as silver supplies tightened.