The word stiver is derived from the Dutch Stuiver

Stuiver

The stuiver was a pre-decimal coin used in the Netherlands It was worth 16 penning or 8 duit. Twenty stuivers equalled a guilder.It circulated until the Napoleonic Wars...

. It was a currency denomination in use in Ceylon from 1801 until 1821. It was also a denomination that formed part of the currency system of Demerara-Essequibo

Demerara-Essequibo

The colony of Demerara-Essequibo was created on 13 August 1814 when the British combined the colonies of Demerara and Esequibo. On 20 November 1815 the colony was formally ceded to Britain by the Netherlands....

 (later British Guiana

British Guiana

British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...

, now Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

).

The currency was also mentioned in the famous poem by Robert Browning

Robert Browning

Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...

, The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Hamelin

Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....

: "With you, don't think I'll bate [debate concerning] a stiver! And folks who put me in a passion may find me pipe after another fashion."