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5 Quetzales Banco Central de Guatemala, 1st. print
| Issuer | Banco Central de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1927-1934 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Quetzal (1925-date) |
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| Obverse description | Purple intaglio print on orange, light-green, and blue multicolour underprint. Portrait vignette of President José María Orellana at left, a dock workers scene at centre-left, and a quetzal bird vignette at right. Ornate guilloche border frames the entire composition. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in purple. A central intaglio vignette presents a panoramic bird's-eye view of Guatemala City with volcanic peaks rising in the background, framed by an ornate cartouche with scrollwork. A large circular guilloche medallion occupies the left field, while a denomination numeral "5" set within an elaborate guilloche rosette appears at right. The bank title arches across the top and the denomination legend is inscribed in a panel at the foot of the central vignette. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Central de Guatemala was established in 1926 under reforms pushed through with direct input from Edwin Kemmerer, the American monetary adviser who reshaped central banking across several Latin American republics during the 1920s. This note belongs to the bank's inaugural series — the first issues under a unified central authority, replacing the fragmented system of private commercial bank notes that had circulated beforehand.
De La Rue's involvement was typical for new Latin American central banks of the period seeking credibility through association with established European security printers. The series ran across a notably long window for a first issue, suggesting slow drawdown rather than rapid replacement.