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41/2 Pence Cut without countermark
| Issuer | Tortola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1801 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.39 g |
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| Obverse description | Quarter-circle cut from a Spanish colonial silver real, retaining a partial crowned heraldic lion rampant to the right within an ornamental border. The fragment of the outer legend reads 'A RUM', representing a portion of the original host coin's circumferential inscription. The cut edges are irregular, consistent with manual cutting, while the milled border is partially preserved along the curved edge. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Tortola's fractional coinage of 1801 was produced not by any mint but by the simple expedient of cutting Spanish colonial eight-reales coins into segments. The "4½ pence" denomination was a local convention for pricing the cut piece within the British Caribbean accounting system, where the Spanish dollar was officially rated at 9 shillings — making each eighth worth 13½ pence, and each sixteenth worth the 4½ pence assigned here.
Unlike many cut pieces circulating in the British West Indies at the time, this Tortola issue lacks a countermark, which makes attribution dependent almost entirely on provenance and die reference rather than any applied mark of official authorization.