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4 Pence - George VI
| Issuer | Government of British Guiana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938-1943 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver (.925) |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 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 | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | BRITISH GUIANA FOUR PENCE 1943 |
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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.