Guatemala. Current Banknote

The quetzal is the currency of Guatemala, named after the national bird of Guatemala, the resplendent quetzal.

The first banknotes were issued by the Central Bank of Guatemala in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 quetzales, with ½ quetzal notes added in 1933. In 1946, the Bank of Guatemala took over the issuance of paper money, with its first issues being overprints on notes of the Central Bank. Except for the introduction of 50 quetzales notes in 1967, the denominations of banknotes were unchanged until ½ and 1 quetzal coins replaced notes at the end of the 1990s.The Bank of Guatemala has introduced a polymer banknote of 1 quetzal on August 20, 2007.

1 Quetzal polymer banknote

Front: José María Orellana, President of Guatemala during the Currency Reform that introduced the Quetzal as the official currency.

Back: Main building of the Central Bank of Guatemala