10 Pence - George II Countermarked 1 real of Ferdinand VI

Jamaica's chronic shortage of small change in the mid-eighteenth century forced the colonial authorities to authorize the countermarking of Spanish colonial reales already circulating on the island. A crowned "10" punch was applied to Spanish American 1 real pieces — in this case coins of Ferdinand VI — to officially denominate them at 10 pence sterling for local transaction use. The practice was legally sanctioned but administratively improvised, and the depth and placement of the counterstamp varies considerably from piece to piece.