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5 Stivers
| Issuer | Colony of Berbice, Council of Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1825 |
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| Shape | Rectangular (hand cut) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black ink on plain paper, the note is a letterpress issue of extreme simplicity consistent with early colonial emergency currency. A vertical ornamental scroll border runs along the left portion of the face, alongside a small vignette of two standing figures. The denomination "FIVE STIVERS" appears in bold serif capitals at centre-right, above the legend "Good with the Colony Berbice" in flowing script, with fields for number, date, and recipient name at left, and manuscript signature spaces designated for Commissaries and Secretary, issued by command of the Council of Government. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Entirely unprinted; the reverse presents a plain, uninscribed paper surface with no text, vignette, or ornamental work of any kind. |
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| Comments |
Berbice was a separate British crown colony at the time of this issue — not yet merged into British Guiana, which didn't happen until 1831. The Council of Government issued these small-denomination notes to address a chronic shortage of low-value currency in the colony, where metallic coin rarely reached circulation in sufficient quantity. Five stivers placed this firmly at the working end of colonial trade.
The stivers denomination survived from Dutch colonial administration, a linguistic and monetary holdover that persisted in Berbice well after British takeover in 1803.