Essequibo & Demerary ND (1808) 12 bitts
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. The eastern portion became Dutch Guiana, and eventually, Surinam. The coin shown is an example of the first colonial currency, not dated but authorized for issue in 1808 as an emergency measure. It is a pierced Spanish colonial eight reales, with the letters E&D 3GL applied in a beaded circle. It was lot 815 and sold in Ponterio sale 158 (New York, January, 2011) for $15,930. The catalog description reads:
"BRITISH GUIANA. Essequibo and Demerary. 3 Guilders (12 Bits local currency= 5 Shillings), ND (1808) Emergency Issue. Approved by Court Policy of 9 December 1808.
Ex: Ponterio & Associates Auction #142, January 2003, lot #1521. "The James Hunnicutt Collection".
Ex: UBS Auction #45, September 1998, lot #3142.
Ex: Randolf Zander Collection.
Ex: Hans Schulman Auction March 1966, lot #1430. "The Howard Gibbs Collection".
Dotted oval "E & D/3 G.L." countermark on a 1799-IJ 8 Reales of Lima Peru. Pierced with serrated punch of 19 cren[el]ations removing center plug. Very original with attractive old toning, sharp countermark with an excellent provenance. VERY FINE."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.903 fine silver. this specimen 21.50 g.
Catalog reference: KM-2; Prid-2 (listed as RARE); EL-ED1 (listed as EXTREMELY RARE).
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Ponterio, Richard, and Kent Ponterio, Ponterio sale 158: The 2011 N.Y.I.N.C. Auction, Irvine: Bowers and Merena, 2010.
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