Catalog
20 Dollars Government Issue
| Issuer | Government of British Guiana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH GUIANA GEORGETOWN. 1st. JANUARY, 1942 PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF TWENTY DOLLARS WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON |
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| Reverse lettering | 20 20 WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON |
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| Comments |
British Guiana's wartime currency arrangements were complicated by the fact that the colony's commercial banks — Barclays, Royal Bank of Canada, the British Guiana Bank — normally handled note issuance. A direct Government issue in 1942 signals an emergency measure, almost certainly tied to wartime demand outpacing what the established banking channels could supply.
Waterlow & Sons printed the series in London despite active Blitz risk — the firm's Finsbury printing works had already taken bomb damage earlier in the war. The P#16 twenty-dollar denomination would have represented substantial purchasing power in the colony, likely limiting its day-to-day handling and contributing to the relative scarcity of circulated survivors in this series.