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

Grenada, Issues of c. 1786, One Bitt (value Ninepence, after 21 March 1787 reduced to Sixpence), a lightweight cut ‘eleventh’ of a Spanish-American 8 Réales, rev. countermarked with incuse g, 1.58g/24.4 gr (Prid. 1 [Sale, lot 357]; KM. 1). Obverse almost flat, reverse fine, countermark very fine, possibly a contemporary forgery, rare £200-250

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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Provenance: Bt Baldwin April 1983.

A local Act, dated 21 March 1787, refers to this denomination as being the eleventh part of a dollar, but in practice it is most unlikely that 8 réales could be successfully cut into eleven segments of near equal weight. It is much more likely that the dollars were cut into twelve segments, thus producing one bitt profit per coin, covering the cost of the cutting operation. As many lightweight pieces (as low as one-sixteenth of a dollar) were introduced by private individuals, the segments were reduced in value to sixpence. Full weight segments (anything near one twelfth of a dollar, 35 grains) are extremely rare