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1 Bit Countermark
| Issuer | Grenada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1787 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Necessity coinage (1789-1798) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | G |
| Reverse description | Reverse of the triangular cut piece retains partial design elements of the original Spanish colonial 8 Reales host coin, including fragmented milled or minted surface detail. An incuse rectangular countermark bearing the letter 'G' is also present on this face, consistent with the necessity coinage countermarking practice applied throughout the British West Indies in the late eighteenth century. The irregular cut edges and worn surfaces reflect the piece's circulation history. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Grenada's bit coinage emerged from a chronic shortage of small change that plagued the British Caribbean throughout the eighteenth century. Colonial administrators solved the problem crudely but effectively: Spanish colonial reales were cut into segments and countermarked to circulate at locally assigned values. This particular piece — a fragment of a Spanish silver coin punched with official authority — predates any purpose-struck Grenadian coinage by decades.
The island had been British only since 1763, ceded by France under the Treaty of Paris. Spanish silver still dominated everyday commerce regardless of which flag flew over St. George's.