25 Centavos

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.