Catalog
1⁄16 Dollar - George IV
| Issuer | British West Indies |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820-1822 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1⁄16 Dollar |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central device depicts a large admiralty anchor with a rope coiled about the shank, surmounted by a jewelled royal crown. The denomination indicator XVI appears to both the left and right of the anchor's arms, denoting the sixteenth part of a dollar. The date 1822 is placed in the lower exergual area beneath the anchor's stock, while the circumferential legend COLONIAR: BRITAN: MONET: runs along the upper periphery within a beaded border. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | COLONIAR: BRITAN: MONET: XVI XVI 1822 (Translation: Colonial money of Britain) |
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| Additional information |
The 1/16 dollar denomination was created specifically to circulate alongside the fractional Spanish silver already flooding British Caribbean colonies — a pragmatic acknowledgment that Spanish coinage was the de facto currency and showed no sign of leaving. These pieces were struck at the Royal Mint to mesh with the 8-reales system, not replace it.
The short production window of 1820–1822 coincided almost exactly with the transition from George III to George IV, which is why the series exists in two distinct obverse types catalogued as Pr#13 and Pr#14.