The Lyall Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins

Grenada, Issues of c. 1786, One Bitt (valued at Ninepence, after 21 March 1787 reduced to Sixpence), a lightweight cut ‘eleventh’ of a Spanish-American 8 Réales, one side countermarked with incuse g, 1.55g/23.9gr (Prid. 1 [Sale, lot 357]; KM. 1). Coin worn smooth, countermark very fine and likely to be an official punch, rare £200-300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Lyall Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins.

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Collection

Provenance: H.D. Gibbs Collection, Hans Schulman Auction (New York), 18-19 March 1966, lot 1443; bt Spink 1974.

The Act of March 1787 (Pridmore, Appendix 31) discusses the problems of dollars being cut into more than 11 segments and these lightweight segments causing problems in the marketplace. The result of this was to establish the new value of sixpence to all segments. In practice it would be virtually impossible to cut a dollar into 11 segments and most likely the dollars were, on a best attempt basis, cut into 12 segments (still not an easy task) with a nominal weight of 34.5 grains and the ‘extra bitt’ would have probably paid for the cutting operation. Therefore it is likely that officially stamped segments with a weight less than a twelfth of a dollar should exist. The reduction of value from ninepence to sixpence specified in the referenced 1787 Act must have been a helpful attempt at solving the marketplace valuation situation and encompassed both lightweight officially stamped segments and the unofficially stamped counterfeits. The reduction in value most likely led to the segments that weighed close to a twelfth being culled from circulation and melted, hence the rarity of these heavier pieces