1 Shilling 8 Pence - George II PHS V D G HISP ET IND REX, Mexico City mint, countermarked

Jamaica lacked a dedicated mint throughout the colonial period, so the island's authorities routinely countermarked foreign silver to legitimize it for local circulation. This piece is a Spanish colonial 2 reales from the Mexico City mint, officially sanctioned for use at a fixed value of 1 shilling 8 pence under a series of Jamaican proclamations that sought to regulate the chaotic mix of currencies flooding Caribbean trade. The countermark itself — applied by crown authority — is what transforms a Spanish colonial coin into a Jamaican issue for catalog purposes.

George II died in 1760, making 1758 strikes among the later issues of his reign to enter this circulation system.