TO mark the 200th anniversary of the Demerara Revolt, the Bank of Guyana presented President Dr. Irfaan Ali with a $200 commemorative coin to honour those who rose up against slavery.

This presentation occurred on Saturday at State House, where the Bank’s Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga gave the commemorative coin in the presence of Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr and members of the 1823 Revolt Committee.

Over 10,000 enslaved persons took part in the Demerara Revolt of 1823, which was the largest uprising against slavery in Guyana. The Revolt and the deaths of over 250 enslaved persons, as well as of an English priest who supported the uprising, brought slavery’s dehumanising conditions to the attention of the English people and parliament.

This helped to pave the way for the Slavery Abolition Act and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in August 1834. The coin is a Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) struck in bronze alloy.

It bears the National Coat of Arms on the obverse side and the 1823 Demerara Revolt Monument on the reverse. The Monument features a bronze sculpture of an enslaved man wielding a machete and a chain with a cross attached to the end.

The coin is minted by the Osborne Mint in the USA and will be available at the Bank at a price of $5,000 each from tomorrow.