Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banco Centro-Americano |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a uniform brown-olive tone with a large central oval medallion bearing the text 'BANCO CENTRO-AMERICANO' in bold letters, surrounded by an intricate guilloche underprint. Symmetrical vignettes on both sides show allegorical figures in classical style, framed within elaborate lathe-work borders. The denomination 'UN PESO' and the city name 'TEGUCIGALPA' are inscribed within the outer band of the central medallion, with the printer's imprint running along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | UN PESO BANCO CENTRO-AMERICANO TEGUCIGALPA AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco Centro-Americano was a short-lived institution operating in Guatemala during the late nineteenth century, when the country's banking sector was fragmented among multiple competing private banks of issue — each printing its own currency with little central oversight. The American Bank Note Company held a near-monopoly on prestige banknote printing for Latin American clients in this period, and Guatemalan banks regularly contracted through New York regardless of their actual financial footing.
Pick 131 is genuinely rare in the market. The bank's operating life was brief, redemption records are poor, and surviving examples surface infrequently at auction.