Catalog
4 Pence - George VI
| Issuer | Government of British Guiana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938-1943 |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1840-1954) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central denomination inscription 'FOUR PENCE' displayed in two lines within the field, surmounted by a royal crown above and framed by a wreath of laurel and oak branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The issuer name 'BRITISH GUIANA' appears vertically along the left and right periphery respectively, with the date positioned in the exergue below the wreath. A beaded border encircles the entire design. |
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| Additional information |
British Guiana's 4-pence piece occupied an unusual niche in Caribbean colonial coinage — the denomination persisted long after it had disappeared from British domestic circulation, kept alive by the specific demands of local wage payment customs, particularly the practice of paying plantation workers in fractional amounts that required small silver coins in everyday transactions. By 1938, sterling silver at .925 fineness was already an anachronism for such a minor denomination; Britain had abandoned silver for its own coinage in 1920.
Production ended in 1943 as wartime silver conservation pressures made small-denomination colonial silver issues increasingly difficult to justify to the Treasury.