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5 Pesos Banco Americano de Guatemala
| Issuer | Banco Americano de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 190 × 104 mm |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio engraving on cream paper, centered on a classical allegorical vignette of two female figures seated amid agricultural produce — including tropical fruits, cocoa pods, and a bird of prey in the foreground — with a harbour scene and steam-powered machinery visible in the background, evoking commerce and industry. Large guilloche-framed numeral "5" medallions anchor the left and right margins, with the series letter "C" printed in each upper corner alongside red serial numbers. Three manuscript signatures appear in the lower portion beneath the date and place of issue, with the printer's imprint of Waterlow & Sons Ltd., London at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown on cream paper, the central vignette presents a sweeping panoramic landscape with volcanic mountains rising in the background, palm trees, plantation fields, a township with buildings, horse-drawn carts, and a steam locomotive in full motion — a composition celebrating Guatemalan agriculture and modernising transport infrastructure. Circular medallions at left and right contain, respectively, the coat of arms of the República de Guatemala and the Great Seal of the United States with the motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM", both surrounded by dotted borders. The denomination "Cinco Pesos" appears in a cartouche at the foot of the central design, flanked by large numeral "5" panels set within elaborate guilloche lacework, with the printer's imprint of Waterlow & Sons Limited, London Wall, London at the base. |
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| Comments |
Banco Americano de Guatemala was one of several private banks authorized to issue currency under Guatemala's 1874 banking law, a system that persisted well into the twentieth century despite repeated proposals for central bank consolidation. The American interest in the bank's name was not incidental — the institution had significant ties to foreign commercial capital during a period when United States businesses were aggressively expanding their footprint in Central America.
Waterlow & Sons printed for dozens of Latin American issuers simultaneously, and the S-series Pick numbering signals this is a private commercial bank note rather than a government issue — a distinction that mattered enormously during the monetary reforms that eventually ended Guatemala's free banking period in 1926 with the establishment of the Banco Central.