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[Creeperopolis]

Upon independence from Spain in September 1821, the Central American government owed 3,138,451 pesos of foreign debt, and by October 1823, after the end of the period of Mexican rule, the debt increased to 3,583,576 pesos.[117] Further economic difficulties included a decline in indigo production which predated independence, the decline of textile production to a "state of extreme decadence" due to competing English cotton goods,[118] and the government's failure to collect taxes worth 385,693 pesos from the provinces.[119] In an attempt to alleviate the debt and economic troubles, a tariff law was passed in 1822—placing taxes on various exports from Central America—and the exporting of coins was made illegal.[120] In 1822, Gaínza issued 40,000 pesos in the form of banknotes, which was the first use of paper money in Central America.[121] The Central American federal government eventually defaulted on its debt the mid-1820s.[122]

Sometime between 1823 and 1825, a congressional commission by the government of the Federal Republic of Central America began an investigation into why the mint in Guatemala City had been "reduced" to the "condition of insignificance" it was it. Initially, the commission believed that the mint was "despoiled" between 1822 and 1823 by Gaínza and Filísola, who supposedly used the mint to directly fund their military operations in the annexation of El Salvador.[123] Additionally, the residents of Guatemala City were forced to raise enough money to pay for the Mexican army's withdrawal from Central America in August 1823.[55] Eventually, the commission's initial belief was proven incorrect, as it later found that the reason the mint had been producing less money was because the mint failed to make loans to miners.[123]

To celebrate the incorporation of Central America to the Mexican Empire, Iturbide authorized the minting of proclamation medals in gold, silver, and bronze, however, they did not have any monetary value.[124] Four medals were struck for Central America dating to late-1822 for Chiapas, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and León; the location of where the medals were minted is unknown.[125]