Guatemalan Currency

---

So my guide book tells me that the Quetzal is both Guatemala's national bird and its currency. This sounded like a very inconvenient form of currency to use, what with all the squawking and pooping.

Having arrived, I learned that my understanding was a bit flawed. People do not carry these birds around to pay for goods. It's actually coins and paper money that is backed by birds, like other currencies are backed by gold. This is smart: people are less likely to have confidence in a fiat currency from a 3rd-world government; having a real asset to back it up is certainly reassuring. Making it a rare bird like the Quetzal guards against inflation. I think it's been key to the country's recent stability.

So I imagine there is an enormous aviary in Guatemala City that contains all of these birds, and I can go exchange my 1-Quetzal coin for one bird.

What has me worried, though, are the coins that represent centavos, or part of a quetzal.

---

Comments

[Robin]

Okay, you had me going there for a minute, but I have Wikipedia, and I know how to use it! What *is* true is that it was the tail feathers of the Quetzal that were used as currency by the Mayans. Interesting. I don't know if being "pegged to" is the same as being "backed by," but Wikipedia says it is now pegged to the US dollar, which makes things convenient I should think. Don't spend all your quetzals in one place!

[Bert]

Hilarious
Hi Aron, I knew you had an interest in software engineering and that you liked travelling, I got that figured out as well. But you do surprise me with your expertise on foreign economies. In any case, if you keep writing these kinds of posts, I'll just *have* to put up a link on our Wiki :-) Take care ! Bert