Grenada's 66 Shilling was a product of the chronic coin shortage that plagued British Caribbean colonies in the late eighteenth century. With metropolitan coinage perpetually drained by trade imbalances and wartime disruption, local authorities resorted to countermarking or locally issuing gold pieces valued in shillings to anchor exchange. The 66 Shilling denomination itself reflects the standard colonial convention of rating Spanish gold at a premium over sterling to discourage export.
Only a handful of confirmed examples are known, making this among the rarest documented issues of any British Caribbean territory.
Grenada's 66 Shilling was a product of the chronic coin shortage that plagued British Caribbean colonies in the late eighteenth century. With metropolitan coinage perpetually drained by trade imbalances and wartime disruption, local authorities resorted to countermarking or locally issuing gold pieces valued in shillings to anchor exchange. The 66 Shilling denomination itself reflects the standard colonial convention of rating Spanish gold at a premium over sterling to discourage export.
Only a handful of confirmed examples are known, making this among the rarest documented issues of any British Caribbean territory.