"Guinea" and the OED

[Joel S. Berson]

It has finally occurred to me to look in the OED.  It does have under
"Guinea Negro" two quotations using the stand-alone "Guinea": The
1823 Cooper _Pioneers_, and from 1861 J. R. LOWELL Biglow P. 2nd Ser.
i. 183 'Tain't quite hendy to pass off one o' your six-foot
Guineas.  (If I remember correctly, we haven't found anything earlier
or much later.)

But the OED does lack that sense as a definition, whereas it does
include "1.b. A derogatory term for an immigrant of Italian or
Spanish origin, or one of similar appearance."

Joel

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