The Lyall Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins

Dominica, Issue c. 1780-1795 at 10 Bitts (valued at Seven Shillings and Sixpence) and revalued upwards to 11 Bitts (Eight Shillings and Threepence) by the Dominica Act, passed 27 September 1798, a Ferdinand VI, 8 Réales, 1756mm, Mexico City, centrally pierced with a heart-shaped hole, 23.51g/362.8gr (Prid. 6 [Sale, lot 281]; KM. Martinique 10). About fine, extremely rare £1,500-2,000

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

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Provenance: H.D. Gibbs Collection, Hans Schulman Auction (New York), 18-19 March 1966, lot 1606; A. van Loan Gaines Collection, Hans Schulman Auction (New York), 24-5 May 1968, lot 1008; R.A. Byrne Collection, Jess Peters Auction (Los Angeles), 13-15 June 1975, lot 1219; E. Roehrs Collection, Part I, DNW Auction 87, 28 September 2010, lot 183.

The Pridmore Dominica type II dollars are the pieces in circulation on the island and referred to in the 1798 Act. The date range c. 1780-95 is wide, as without any contemporary documentation from Dominica it is impossible to pinpoint when these coins were introduced. It is likely that a military person or civil servant from Gibraltar was relocated to Dominica and introduced the concept to the local administration there. It is possible that some of the Gibraltar dollars found their way to Dominica (at least one specimen of a dollar with the Gibraltar second series type of heart is known with very extensive circulation wear and could well have been in circulation in Dominica). There are five specimens of the Pridmore Dominica type II dollar recorded; two of these were found in the West Indies and one has a direct link with Dominca dating back to c. 1900, providing reasonably compelling evidence that this group originated in Dominica. See the introduction to Gibraltar for more details on the heart-shaped piercings