2019-05-22 Wed

Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico, is home to volcanoes, rainforests, and ancient Mayan sites. The capital, Guatemala City, features the stately National Palace of Culture and the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Antigua, west of the capital, contains preserved Spanish colonial buildings. Lake Atitlán, formed in a massive volcanic crater, is surrounded by coffee fields and villages.

The Quetzal is the currency of Guatemala, named after the national bird of Guatemala, the resplendent quetzal. In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird's tail feathers were used as currency. It is divided into 100 centavos or lenes in Guatemalan dialect.

Today we are looking at a Guatemala 50 Quetzales banknote from 2001. The obverse the portrait of Bachelor Carlos O. Zachrisson - Minister of Finance to right; Quetzal bird to left top; Maya cultural heritage depicting Mayan sculptures and ornaments; and a Stylised pyramid in centre. The reverse depicts Coffee bean pickers; Maya art and artefacts; Mayan god sculpture as a see-through register.

Image Courtesy: Flickr.com