1⅓ Rixdollar - George IV Counterstamped

Ceylon's chronic shortage of small silver in the early nineteenth century led the colonial administration to counterstamp foreign coins already in circulation rather than commission entirely new issues. The 1⅓ Rixdollar denomination itself was an awkward fraction born of necessity — a deliberate ratio designed to relate Dutch Rixdollar-based accounting to British sterling at a workable exchange rate. The 1823 counterstamp program applied a crowned GR punch to Dutch and other colonial silver already circulating on the island.

Host coin condition varies wildly within this type, as the punch was applied regardless of the underlying piece's wear state.