Catalog
50 Centavos Banco de Occidente en Quezaltenango
| Issuer | Banco de Occidente en Quezaltenango |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is framed by an elaborate guilloche border of interlaced floral and scroll motifs. The central circular vignette presents the Guatemalan coat of arms, with a quetzal perched above a scroll inscribed LIBERTAD / 15 / DE SET. / DE 1821, flanked by upright rifles and laurel branches. The bank name arcs around the central vignette, denomination numerals appear within ornate cartouches at left and right, and the printer's imprint — Waterlow & Sons, Limited, London Wall, London — is placed at the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO DE OCCIDENTE · QUEZALTENANGO · LIBERTAD 15 DE SET. DE 1821 (Translation: Bank of the West · Quezaltenango · Freedom 15 September 1821) |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Occidente en Quezaltenango was one of several regional private banks chartered in Guatemala during the liberal reform period of the late nineteenth century, competing directly with the Guatemala City-based institutions for commercial dominance in the western highlands. Quezaltenango was Guatemala's second city and a significant center of coffee export trade, which drove demand for regional credit instruments independent of the capital.
Waterlow & Sons printed the bulk of Guatemala's private bank paper during this era. The 50 centavos denomination was the workhorse of small commercial transactions in provincial markets, and these notes circulated hard.