5 Dollars

The Bank of Guyana was established in 1965 following independence from Britain, replacing the British Guiana Currency Board. This note spans an unusually long issue window — nearly three decades — during which Guyana lurched through nationalization drives, sugar and bauxite price collapses, and Forbes Burnham's increasingly authoritarian cooperative socialism. By the 1980s, chronic foreign exchange shortages meant De La Rue shipments were sometimes delayed, and older notes remained in circulation well past their practical lifespan.

P#22 examples from the late 1980s frequently show heavy wear, a direct consequence of the extended circulation forced by the currency crisis of that period.