Essequibo & Demerary 1809 3 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 3 guilder, dated 1809. It was lot 2705 and sold on Apr 24, 2009 at the 2009 Chicago Auction (C.I.C.F) by Ponterio for $115. The catalog description reads: "BRITISH GUIANA. Essequibo & Demerary. 3 Guilder. 1809. Toned, ALMOST UNCIRCULATED."
Recorded mintage: 21,000.
Specification: 23.32 g, 0.816 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 8, Pr-4.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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