Catalog
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| Issuer | Tobago |
|---|---|
| Year | 1798 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Tobagan dollar (1798-1814) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse retains the original uniface design of the French Colonies 1 Stampee (2 Sols) host coin, presenting a plain, featureless field with no relief design or legend, as is characteristic of this uniface issue. The surface exhibits significant wear and patination consistent with heavy circulation. No additional countermark or overstrike is present on this side. |
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| Additional information |
Tobago's 1798 countermarking program was a direct response to the chronic coin shortage that plagued the British Caribbean colonies throughout the late eighteenth century. With official sterling in perpetual short supply, colonial administrators resorted to countermarking whatever foreign silver was at hand — in this case, small billon pieces — to authorize them as local currency at a fixed shilling value.
Tobago had only recently passed from French to permanent British control, formalized by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.