Título III. Especies monetarias

The banknotes that may be issued shall be of the following denominations: one, five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, two hundred, five hundred and one thousand quetzales. The banknotes shall have the following characteristics:

a)The shape of a rectangle one hundred fifty-six (156) millimeters in base by sixty-seven (67) millimeters in height;

b)The obverse shall bear the serial number and the facsimile signatures of the President and the General Manager of the Bank of Guatemala;

c)The obverse and reverse shall bear the face value printed in numbers and in words, in the Arabic and Mayan numeral systems;

d)The main designs of the obverse and reverse of the banknotes shall be as follows:

i)The one-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of General José María Orellana, and on the reverse, the building of the Bank of Guatemala. Dominant color: green.

ii) The five-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of General Justo Rufino Barrios and on the reverse, an allegory of education. Dominant color: lilac.

iii) The ten-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of General Miguel García Granados and on the reverse, an allegory of the session of the National Legislative Assembly of 1872. Dominant color: red.

iv) The twenty-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of Doctor Mariano Gálvez and on the reverse, an allegory of the signing of the record of Central American independence. Dominant color: blue.

v)The fifty-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of Licenciado Carlos Zachrisson and on the reverse, an allegorical painting of the coffee harvest. Dominant color: orange.

vi) The one-hundred-quetzal banknote shall bear on the obverse the effigy of Bishop and Licenciado Francisco Marroquín and on the reverse, the building of the University of San Carlos de Borromeo located in Antigua Guatemala. Dominant color: sepia; and,

e)The main designs of the obverse and reverse, as well as the dominant color, of the two-hundred, five-hundred and one-thousand-quetzal banknotes shall be set by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, with the opinion of the Monetary Board.

The Monetary Board shall determine the devices, special engravings and other security features applicable to the banknotes, in accordance with modern printing techniques.

The coins that may be issued shall be of the following denominations: five (5), two (2) and one (1) quetzales; fifty (50), twenty-five (25), ten (10), five (5) and one (1) centavos of a quetzal.

The alloys, alloy tolerances, quantity of metals and weights, weight tolerances, designs, diameters and thicknesses of the two-quetzal and five-quetzal coins shall be set by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, with the opinion of the Monetary Board.

The alloys of the coins shall be as follows: those of one Quetzal and of fifty centavos of a Quetzal, seven hundred thousandths copper, two hundred forty-five thousandths zinc, and fifty-five thousandths nickel; those of twenty-five, ten and five centavos, six hundred ten thousandths copper, two hundred thousandths zinc, and one hundred ninety thousandths nickel; that of one centavo, nine hundred eighty-five thousandths aluminum and fifteen thousandths magnesium.

The tolerance limits in the alloys of all coins shall be two percent (2%) above or below.

The coins shall have the quantities of metals and the weights indicated below:

a)The one Quetzal coin: seven grams seven hundred milligrams of copper, two grams six hundred ninety-five milligrams of zinc, and six hundred five milligrams of nickel. Weight: eleven grams;

b)The fifty centavo coin: three grams eight hundred fifty milligrams of copper, one gram three thousand four hundred seventy-five tenths of a milligram of zinc, and three thousand twenty-five tenths of a milligram of nickel. Weight: five grams five hundred milligrams;

c)The twenty-five centavo coin: four grams eight hundred eighty milligrams of copper, one gram six hundred milligrams of zinc, and one gram five hundred twenty milligrams of nickel. Weight: eight grams;

d)The ten centavo coin: one gram nine hundred fifty-two milligrams of copper, six hundred forty milligrams of zinc, and six hundred eight milligrams of nickel. Weight: three grams two hundred milligrams;

e)The five centavo coin: nine hundred seventy-six milligrams of copper, three hundred twenty milligrams of zinc, and three hundred four milligrams of nickel. Weight: one gram six hundred milligrams; and,

f)The one centavo coin: seven hundred eighty-eight milligrams of aluminum and twelve milligrams of magnesium. Weight: eight hundred milligrams.

Coins that do not have the exact weight indicated in the preceding article may be put into circulation only when the difference, whether over or under, does not exceed the following limits:

a)For the one-Quetzal coin, per piece, four hundred fifty milligrams;

b)For the fifty-cent coin, per piece, two hundred fifty milligrams;

c)For the twenty-five-cent coin, per piece, three hundred fifty milligrams;

d)For the ten-cent coin, per piece, one hundred fifty milligrams;

e)For the five-cent coin, per piece, one hundred milligrams; and,

f)For the one-cent coin, per piece, seventy milligrams.

The coins shall be disc-shaped. The obverse of all of them shall bear the engraved National Coat of Arms. On the upper part and around it, the inscription shall be imprinted: República de Guatemala; and on the lower part, in circular form, the year of minting shall be engraved.

The reverse of the coins shall be as follows:

a)The one-Quetzal coin shall bear the inscription "Paz" as part of a stylized dove, with the legends "PAZ FIRME Y DURADERA" on the upper part; and "29 DE DICIEMBRE DE 1996" on the lower part. In the right side field, the number one (1) and the word Quetzal;

b)The fifty-centavo coin shall bear the national flower (Monja Blanca, Lycaste Skinnery Alba); in the right side field, in a perfectly visible manner, the number fifty (50), followed by the word centavos, and in the left side field, the inscription "Monja Blanca Flor Nacional";

c)The twenty-five-centavo coin shall bear the head of an indigenous woman and, in the right side field, in a perfectly visible manner, the number twenty-five (25), followed by the word centavos;

d)The ten-centavo coin shall bear the figure of a monolith of Quiriguá; in the right side field, in a perfectly visible manner, the number ten (10), followed by the word centavos; on the lower part, the inscription "Monolito de Quiriguá";

e)The five-centavo coin shall bear the Tree of Liberty; in the right side field, perfectly visible, the number five (5), followed by the word centavos; and at the foot of the tree, the former national motto: "Libre crezca fecundo"; and,

f)The one-centavo coin shall bear the effigy of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and the inscriptions "Un Centavo" and "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas".

The edges of the one-quetzal, fifty-, twenty-five-, ten- and five-centavo coins shall be reeded and their rim dotted. The one-centavo coins shall have a polygonal rim and plain edges.

The diameter of the one-Quetzal coin shall be twenty-nine millimeters; that of the fifty-cent coin shall be twenty-four and twenty-five hundredths of a millimeter; that of the twenty-five-cent coin, twenty-seven millimeters; that of the ten-cent coin, twenty-one millimeters; that of the five-cent coin, sixteen millimeters; and that of the one-cent coin, nineteen millimeters.

The thicknesses of the coins shall be those required by their respective diameters, alloys and weights.

When circumstances of cost or quality so advise, the Congress of the Republic, upon the opinion of the Monetary Board, may authorize the use of alloys of metals different from those specified in Article 13 of this Law, as well as changes in the tolerances and weights referred to in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of this Law, in the proportions that are most appropriate, as well as modify the design and diameter characteristics specified by this Law.

All expenses for the printing, minting and replacement of monetary specie shall be charged to the operating expenses of the Bank of Guatemala.