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1 Gulden 10 Stuivers Dutch Guiana - Playing Card Money
| Issuer | Dutch Guiana Administration |
|---|---|
| Year | 1817 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | 1817 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Signature(s) | H.L. Perret-Gentil |
| Protection type | Embossed seal, Manuscript signature |
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| Comments |
Playing card money in Dutch Guiana was an emergency measure born from chronic coinage shortages in the colony — hard currency drained out faster than it arrived, and the administration improvised by issuing denominated playing cards as legal tender, authenticated with an embossed seal and a manuscript signature. The practice had precedents elsewhere in the Dutch colonial world and in French Canada, but Suriname's issues are among the rarer survivors.
The 1817 date places this squarely in the post-Napoleonic transition period, when the colony had just been returned to Dutch control after British occupation. H.L. Perret-Gentil served as a senior administrative official during this period, and his signature here is the primary authentication — the embossed seal was easily forged without it.
Playing card substrate means condition varies wildly; the cardboard was not made to last.