Catalog
1 Guilder - George III
| Issuer | Demerara and Essequibo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1809 |
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| Value | 1 Guilder |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central design features the numeral 1 surmounted by a Royal Crown, all enclosed within a wreath of laurel branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The wreath and central device are further framed by a beaded inner border. The circumferential legend COLONIES OF ESSEQUEBO & DEMERARY TOKEN 1 1809 runs around the periphery in Roman capitals, with the date 1809 appearing at the base of the legend. A toothed outer border completes the design. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Demerara and Essequibo had been a Dutch colony before Britain seized it during the Napoleonic Wars, and the 1809 guilder issue reflects that administrative awkwardness directly — the denomination itself is Dutch, struck under British authority for a colony that would not be formally ceded to Britain until the Congress of Vienna in 1814. The colonial government issued these pieces to address a chronic shortage of circulating specie, a problem endemic to Caribbean colonies where coin habitually drained back to Europe.
The .816 fineness mirrors Dutch guilder standards rather than British sterling, a deliberate concession to local commercial expectations.