Essequibo & Demerary 1809 1 guilder
The Essequibo and Demerary were originally two of three Dutch colonies along the coast of present-day Guyana. They were seized by the British to avoid having them fall into French hands after the French invasion of the Netherlands. They remained in British control through the 1830's, at which point the Netherlands and Great Britain formally divided the region between them, the British taking over the western portion. This mixed colonial origin shows in the coinage: Though the portrait of the British monarch is honored on the obverse, the denominations are clearly Dutch.
This coin is a silver 1 guilder, dated 1809. It was lot 50438 and sold on Sept 27, 2007 at the 2007 September Long Beach, CA Signature world Coin Auction #441 for $690. The catalog description reads: "Essequibo & Demerary George III Guilder 1809, MS64 NGC, exceptionally bold with full mint brilliance blanketed by pewter gray and gold patina. Easily among the finest we have encountered for this early type."
Recorded mintage: 32,000.
Specification: 7.77 g, 0.816 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 6.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Pridmore, F., The Coins of the British Commonwealth of Nations to the end of the Reign of George VI 1952: Part 3, Bermuda, British Guiana, British Honduras and the British West Indies, London: Spink & Son, 1965.
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