Guatemala's half quetzal is a note about the start of the Spanish conquest: the front shows Tecún Umán, one of the last rulers of the K'iche' people, who fell in battle against the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in February 1524.

In 1960 Tecún Umán was officially declared Guatemala's national hero. Behind his portrait rises the outline of a Maya temple, and above it flies the quetzal bird, the national symbol. The back shows Temple I at Tikal, the ancient Maya city in northern Guatemala.

The note is dated 14 February 1992. This type (P72) appeared with two dates, 4 January 1989 and 14 February 1992; Maya glyphs and trees around the temple on the back set it apart from its predecessor.

The half-quetzal note no longer appears in the Bank of Guatemala's current list, so this note belongs to a closed chapter of the country's monetary history; in a «Maya and the Conquest on money» set it joins the leader who died in 1524 with the great temple of Tikal. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

More banknotes from this country and this era are waiting in the VPcoins catalogue.