The Roehrs Collection of West Indies Cut and Countermarked Coins (Part I)

St. Vincent, ——— Half-Dollar (value presumed as Four Shillings and Three-Halfpence, or Five-and-a-Half Bitts), Charles IIII, a lightweight cut half segment of a Spanish-American 8 Réales, with a central plug to increase the weight, rev. countermarked with sv monogram thrice raised within a shaped indent (once on the plug), 10.27g/158.4 gr (Prid. 2 [Sale, lot 346]; KM. 4.2). Coin and countermarks fine, very rare £700-900

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins formed by the late Edward Roehrs.

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Collection

Provenance: R.A. Byrne Collection, Jess Peters Auction (Los Angeles), 13-15 June 1975, lot 1089.

As the plugged half-dollar segments are often less than the 168 grain minimum weight standard specified in the December 1797 Act, it is likely that the action of plugging and stamping these lighter weight segments took place at some later date, but the documentation authorising this action has not been traced