5 Quetzales

Guatemala's 1926 gold coinage was struck in Philadelphia under contract — the U.S. Mint produced these pieces during a period when Guatemala lacked the domestic capacity for gold coinage production. The issue coincided with the long dictatorship of José María Orellana, whose government had in 1924 established the quetzal as the national currency to replace the peso at par with the U.S. dollar, a deliberate monetary alignment with American economic interests in Central America.

Mintages were low and domestic circulation was negligible. Most pieces were held as reserves or exported almost immediately.