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500 Pesos
| Issuer | El Banco de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1926 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is composed of an intricate engine-turned guilloche pattern centred on a large ornamental rosette bearing the numeral 500 at its core. The denomination 500 appears in each corner within circular lathe-work panels, and the issuer's name arcs along the top and bottom of the central design within the guilloche framework. The printer's imprint is set in small type at the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | EL BANCO DE GUATEMALA 500 Compañía Internacional de Billetes de Banco, Nueva York |
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| Comments |
El Banco de Guatemala was a private commercial bank that held the concession to issue currency in Guatemala during the Liberal period — a familiar arrangement across Central America at the time, where note-issuing rights were granted rather than state-held. The Compañía Internacional de Billetes de Banco was the Spanish-language identity under which the American Bank Note Company marketed itself to Latin American clients, and the plates it produced for this series reflect that firm's characteristic high-intaglio quality.
The 500 Pesos denomination would have represented a significant sum in daily Guatemalan commerce, making this effectively a clearing instrument between institutions rather than a note seen in ordinary hands. Guatemala's transition to a state central bank — the Banco Central de Guatemala, established in 1926 — marks the close of this series' issue window and the end of private note-issuing concessions in the country.