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6 Bits / 4 Shillings 6 Pence Countermark

Issuer Grenada
Year 1814
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Value 6 Bits (1/2)
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Obverse description The upper half of a Spanish or Spanish Colonial 8 Reales host coin, cut horizontally to form a half-circle planchet. Three countermark punches are applied at the corners and lower edge of the cut: 'T' at upper right, 'R' at upper centre, and a denomination numeral '6' at or near the base, with additional letter punches visible in the field. The cut was deliberately executed to position the countermarks across the severed edge, rendering the piece resistant to further subdivision for bullion purposes. The remaining obverse design of the host coin is partially visible, including elements of the crowned Spanish royal arms with castle and lion quarters discernible in the lower field.
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Reverse description The reverse retains the surviving design of the Spanish or Spanish Colonial 8 Reales host coin, partially preserved across the half-circle flan. Remnants of the milled border are visible along the straight cut edge and the curved periphery. The central design elements of the host coin's reverse — typically a crowned globes-and-columns motif for milled coinage or a cross and shield arrangement for cob coinage — are partially discernible, though heavily obscured by the cutting and the deformation caused by the countermark punches applied to the obverse. The date of the host coin is effectively obliterated, having fallen adjacent to one of the countermark punch sites and been flattened upon striking.
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Mintage ND (1814) - Host years mostly unknown due to the way it was cut the remaining date is right on the opposite side of one of the countermark punches, so it goes flat after the hit.
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