A new favorite: MS66 Guatemala silver

Here is a small coin, purchased recently, that I've grown quite fond of. It's a silver 10 centavos from Guatemala, in mint state, beautifully toned, with wonderful flashy luster that's hard to capture in a photo but makes the coin even more delightful in hand.

REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA
AR 10 Centavos (20.5mm, 3.33g, 6h)
Dated 1945. Guatemala City mint
Obverse: REPUBLICA DE GUATEMALA around coat of arms of Guatemala: quetzal perched on scroll inscribed LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTEMBRE DE 1821 in four lines; crossed rifles and sabres behind, wreath around; below arms, 0.720 1945
Reverse: -LEY DE 26 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1924-, quetzal perched on pillar inscribed 30 DE JUNIO 10 DE 1871 in five lines; 10 in left field, CENTAVOS below
References: Numista 5128
Mintage: 1,499,000
In NGC encapsulation, graded MS66. Only one graded higher at NGC; none higher at PCGS. From the Globus Collection. A most attractive specimen, lustrous and lightly toned.​

The imagery on this coin represents several key moments in Guatemalan history. The national coat of arms shown on the obverse includes a quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. The date on the parchment – September 15, 1821 – is the date Guatemala achieved independence from Spain. The reverse of the coin again shows a quetzal, perched atop a pillar bearing the date of the 1871 Liberal Revolution – which event is also referenced by the crossed weapons on the obverse. The legend on the reverse also contains a date – November 26, 1926 – which marked the introduction of the new monetary unit called the quetzal, which became Guatemala’s national currency.


NGC's photos:

 

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Wonderful coin Meat Man!

 

Wonderful. The Quetzals look very crisp! I really like these little silver minors from Latin America.

 

Nice looking coin. Nice color. I don't know why but I always like crowded designs such as the obverse on your coin.

Next to "33.3g" you have "6h." What is 6h?

 

Thanks! I bought it kind of on a whim, since the bidding was pretty low (hammered for $20)

Thanks! I agree, Latin America has a lot of very nice coins with some beautiful imagery/artistry. You see a lot of American influence, as well. I'm sure it won't be the last such coin I acquire.

 

Thanks longnine!

The "6h" refers to the die axis, in terms of what clock hour relative to 12 the dies are rotated, with 12 being the top of the correctly oriented obverse. In this case, the reverse die is rotated 180 degrees (hour of 6 relative to hour of 12 on a clock) to the obverse.
die alignment - NumisWiki, The Collaborative Numismatics Project