Great Britain grouped several of their colonies in what is now the Caribbean Sea and northern South America for coinage purposes. The annotation ‘British Guiana and West Indies’ applies to today’s Guyana and several islands in the Caribbean.
British Guiana, composed of the older colony Essequibo & Demerary and south along the river courses, began a currency system based on the pound sterling in 1936. In 1917, the title changed from ‘BRITISH GUIANA and WEST INDIES’ to ‘BRITISH GUIANA’. The area would achieve independence as Guyana in 1966.
