5 Stivers

Berbice was a separate British crown colony at the time of this issue — not yet merged into British Guiana, which didn't happen until 1831. The Council of Government issued these small-denomination notes to address a chronic shortage of low-value currency in the colony, where metallic coin rarely reached circulation in sufficient quantity. Five stivers placed this firmly at the working end of colonial trade.

The stivers denomination survived from Dutch colonial administration, a linguistic and monetary holdover that persisted in Berbice well after British takeover in 1803.