Essequibo & Demerary

Just what is in Krause from me. The 1 Stiver came in Copper and a Proof Copper Gilt. Gilt Proof going for 2,000, regular proof for 1750. Mintage on the business strike was 215,000. Catalog # KM-10. Fine is $6.50, VF $15.

George 3 are cool coins

The country we call Guyana today was originally three Dutch colonies: from west to east, they were Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice, named after the rivers which ran through them. The Dutch unified Essequibo and Demerara into one colony in 1792.

At the beginning of the French Revolutionary wars, the Netherlands was conquered by France. British troops from Barbados took over Essequibo & Demerara, Berbice and Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) to prevent them falling into French hands. They were briefly given back to the Dutch by treaty in 1802, only to be retaken later that year when war resumed. When the war finally concluded in 1814, the Dutch formally ceded both Essequibo & Demerara and Berbice to Britain, in exchange for having Dutch Guiana returned to it.

Britain ran it's two new acquisitions as separate colonies until 1831, when Berbice was joined to Essequibo & Demerara to form the new united colony of British Guiana.

This history is reflected in the coinage: in 1813, the British are firmly in control, with the British king's portrait on the obverse. However, the "stiver" is a Dutch denomination. The monetary system of the colony remained linked to it's Dutch roots until well into the 1900s: the Guianan fourpence was equivalent to the old Dutch quarter-guilder.

Thank you for the historical information. I will look up the reference and try and find if anyone has published in this area. Regards.