Guatemala: New Proof And Colour Silver Coins Mark Centenary Anniversary Of The Quetzal

Following events of the 21st March 1847 when Guatemala declared their independence from the Federal Republic of Central America, the newly founded nation was still using the currency of the now defunct geo-political entity which included coinage minted in escudos, pesos and reales. Of all the five countries comprising the former Federal Republic, it was Guatemala's economy that was the strongest, financing most of the federal government's civil and military expenses. Therefore, the development of their new currency had the greatest chance of success. It wasn’t until 1859, when Guatemala replaced the former federal republic’s silver real with the peso. Equalling eight old reales and pegged to 5 French francs, the Guatemalan peso was in use until 1924. At this time, the new Quetzal was introduced following Guatemala’s changeover to the gold standard. The change was at the initiative of President José María Orellana who also approved the name of the new currency, in tribute to the country’s national bird, the colourful Quetzal. The new currency was also in recognition of ancient Mayan peoples who used the quetzal bird's tail feathers as currency. The exchange rate between the former peso and the new quetzal was 60 to one with the quetzal now pegged at an equal one-for-one value to the US Dollar. As such and in honour of President Orellana who died in 1926, his image has remained on the one quetzal banknote ever since.The design on the first gold and silver coins which were dated 1925 and included the country’s official crest on the obverse depicting a parchment scroll with the text LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 the date of Guatemala’s independence along with a quetzal. The reverse side included a depiction of an ornate Quetzal bird perched on top of a column with the date 30 DE JUNO DE 1871 which was the date of Guatemala’s liberal revolution along with the coins’ denomination. Each coin included the legend LEY DE 26 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1924 – the date which the Quetzal currency was made legal surrounds the crest.

The silver proof and colour coins are produced by the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre – Real Casa de la Moneda at their facilities in Madrid on behalf of the Banco de Guatemala. The obverse side replicates the original design found on the first quetzal coins featuring an ornate Quetzal bird perched on top of a column and centred with a textured background. The quetzal is shown with applied colour along with the numeral 1 which is placed to the left and the denomination QUETZAL is shown just under the column. The commemorative text surrounding the primary design reads CENTENARIO DE LA UNIDAD MONETARIA 1924-2024. The reverse side features Guatemala’s traditional crest depicting a parchment scroll along with a quetzal. Surrounding the crest is the legend REPUBLICA DE GUATEMALA and a beaded border.

Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied with a numbered certificate of authenticity. The coins are available from the 22^nd October to those residents in Guatemala initially, it is expected the Banco de Guatemala will announce that a limited number of coins will be available through international distributors. The release of these new silver coins follows on the official issue of 25 million commemorative 1 Quetzal banknotes marking the currency’s centenary anniversary. For additional information, please visit the website of the Banco de Guatemala.