The Museo Numismático de Guatemala, the Banco de Guatemala’s museum of coins and banknotes, is free and opens Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 7a. Avenida 22-01, zona 1. Individual visitors can walk in without booking, per the central bank’s own website read on 9 November 2026.
Groups are the exception: the bank recommends that schools and institutions book ahead for a free guided tour. The museum opened on 11 July 2006, marking 80 years of central banking in Guatemala, according to the Ministry of Culture’s directory.
In short: Free. Monday-Friday 8:00-16:00, inside the Banco de Guatemala at 7a. Avenida 22-01, zona 1. Walk in if you are on your own; groups call 2429-6000 ext. 5248 or email museo.numismatico@banguat.gob.gt. No Saturday or Sunday hours are published.
Quick summary
| Item | Detail | Who publishes it (read 9 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Free | Banco de Guatemala website (FAQ) |
| Hours | Monday-Friday 8:00-16:00 | Banco de Guatemala, FAQ and museum page |
| Hours, directory listing | Monday-Friday 9:00-17:00 | Ministry of Culture SIC directory, undated |
| Individual visits | Go directly to the bank’s premises during opening hours | Banco de Guatemala FAQ |
| Group visits | Book ahead for a guided tour, also free | Banco de Guatemala FAQ |
| Booking contact | 2429-6000 ext. 5248 · museo.numismatico@banguat.gob.gt | Banco de Guatemala FAQ; same in SIC |
| Address | 7a. Avenida 22-01, zona 1, Guatemala City | Banco de Guatemala museum page |
| Opened | 11 July 2006 | SIC directory |
Walk-in or booked: what the bank says
The central bank’s answer to how to visit is short. Individuals can present themselves at the Banco de Guatemala’s premises, where the public is attended during the stated hours. School groups, colleges, universities and other institutions are told to book in advance by phone (2429-6000, extension 5248) or by email (museo.numismatico@banguat.gob.gt), so that museum staff can meet them and give a guided tour. Those tours cost nothing.
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory gives different advice: it recommends booking preferably 15 days ahead and lists hours of 9:00 to 17:00. The listing carries no date. Treat the 15-day lead time as a sensible target for a large group, not a rule for a single visitor.
Two sets of hours
| Source | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Banco de Guatemala, museum page and FAQ | Monday-Friday | 8:00-16:00 |
| Ministry of Culture SIC directory (undated) | Monday-Friday | 9:00-17:00 |
The bank runs the museum, so its 8:00 to 16:00 is the current schedule. Arriving after 16:00 on the strength of the directory listing risks a closed door. Neither source lists weekend opening.
What the museum covers
The bank’s museum page frames the collection with two dates: the first coin struck in Guatemala appeared in 1733, and another 141 years passed before the country saw its first locally issued banknote. Its sections follow the country’s history:
- Pre-Hispanic period (Época Prehispánica)
- Colonial period (Época Colonial)
- Independence and the Central American Federation (Época Independiente y Federación Centroamericana)
- The Republic (Época de la República)
- The central bank (Banco Central, Banco de Guatemala)
The Ministry of Culture’s directory describes 12 exhibition rooms covering the means of payment used from pre-Hispanic times to the Republic, starting with what served as money before coins: jade and obsidian stones, exotic bird feathers and animal skins traded by the first inhabitants of Mesoamerica. The collection includes the coins and notes struck and issued by the Banco de Guatemala since its founding in 1946. The museum also displays the original sculptures, paintings and drawings that were reproduced on some of the banknotes still in circulation.
The bank presents the pieces as more than money: each carries a face value alongside artistic and historical merit, and studying them, it says, teaches about the issuing country’s economy and finances, trade, customs, religions, political history and art across generations. It describes the museum as its contribution to preserving and spreading national culture.
The bank’s page explains the word itself: numismática comes from the Latin numisma, coin, and covers the study and collecting of coins and state-issued paper money, and the tools used to strike coins and print notes.
The bank’s website lists the museum in its menu next to its libraries (Bibliotecas), its art collection (Pinacoteca) and its Banguat Educa programme.
Getting there
The museum is inside the Banco de Guatemala, at 7a. Avenida 22-01 in zona 1. The bank’s pages give the street address only and publish no transport or parking directions. For the surrounding district, see our zona 1 and Centro Histórico guide. The army history museum, also in zona 1, is covered in our Museo Militar page.
Related pages
- Guatemala City museums: hours and entry fees, including the National Palace in zona 1.
- Things to do in Guatemala City.
- Today’s quetzal against the dollar: exchange rates.
Sources
- Banco de Guatemala, home page FAQ (how to visit the Museo Numismático: hours, free entry, individual and group visits, booking contact), read 9 November 2026.
- Banco de Guatemala, Museo Numismático de Guatemala (history, sections, hours, address), read 9 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, SIC listing Museo Numismático de Guatemala, undated, read 9 November 2026.
Affiliate links — if you book, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Before you pay, check each plan's medical-evacuation limit and its rules for hiking and adventure activities. Three options, as each company describes them on its own site:
- Genki Traveler: a monthly subscription for up to 12 months that covers up to €1,000,000 for unexpected medical care while traveling abroad, at public and private doctors and hospitals.
- SafetyWing Nomad Insurance: the Essential plan is travel medical insurance paid every 4 weeks; the Complete plan is full health insurance with extra travel protections.
- Faye: single-trip plans sold to residents of U.S. states (not U.S. territories); its FAQ lists emergency medical cover of up to $250K and emergency medical evacuation of up to $500K, and adventure and extreme activities need a paid add-on for medical cover.
Limits, prices and the altitude rules side by side: travel insurance for Guatemala · insurance for volcano hikes
Affiliate links: we earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Plan descriptions come from each insurer's own site, read September 22-25, 2026; Genki's limit is in euros, Faye's in U.S. dollars; this is not insurance advice. Disclosure
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Museo Numismático de Guatemala open?
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., according to the Banco de Guatemala’s website (read 9 November 2026). An undated Ministry of Culture directory listing gives 9:00 to 17:00; the central bank’s own hours are the ones to go by.
How much does the Museo Numismático cost?
Nothing. The Banco de Guatemala states that entry is free and that its guided tours for groups are free too.
Do I need to book to visit the coin museum?
Not as an individual: the Banco de Guatemala says individual visitors can go directly to its premises during opening hours. Schools, universities and other groups are advised to book in advance on 2429-6000 extension 5248 or at museo.numismatico@banguat.gob.gt to get a guided tour.
Where is the Museo Numismático?
Inside the Banco de Guatemala, at 7a. Avenida 22-01, zona 1, Guatemala City.
What is in the Museo Numismático?
Per the Ministry of Culture’s directory, 12 exhibition rooms tracing means of payment from pre-Hispanic jade, obsidian, feathers and animal skins to the coins and banknotes issued by the Banco de Guatemala since 1946, plus original sculptures, paintings and drawings reproduced on some banknotes.
