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THE COINAGE OF THE WEST INDIES 
 
 WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE CUT AND COUNTERSTAMPED PIECES* 
 
 BY HOWLAND WOOD 
 
 Iii any consideration of the coinage of the West Indian Islands a 
 number of points not met with in other series present themselves. 
 None of the coins with the exception of the Haitian issues were made 
 on the islands, and hut few were made by the home governments for 
 the particular use of the island colonists. It is therefore apparent that 
 what coins the islanders had were outside coins, either imported on 
 purpose, or brought there in the natural course of trade. The Danes 
 for their insular possessions formed an exception, for a plentiful supply 
 of coins made especially for their West Indian colonies was sent over 
 from the beginning up to the present day. Despite this a large number 
 of merchants of St. Thomas have issued tokens of small denominations 
 based on the Mexican dollar. t In passing it may be well to state that 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 Denmark has made the only gold coins for actual use in the West In- 
 dies. Fig. 1 shows the four daler or twenty franc piece. Spain in 
 recent years only, made a silver coinage for Porto Rico. England at 
 one time has made copper money for Bermuda, Bahamas, Barbados and 
 Antigua, and since 1869 a plentiful nickel coinage for Jamaica. The 
 English silver coinages consist of the so-called anchor pieces, the 
 three -halfpenny pieces for Jamaica and Ceylon, and four -penny pieces 
 which partake more of the nature of general colonial issues. In recent 
 years the four-penny piece bears the inscription British guiana and 
 
 * These notes have been made largely from the extensive collection of these pieces in the 
 cabinet of The American Numismatic Society. 
 
 f The Danish West Indies have had several standards ; up to 1849 the skilling was in use, 
 from 1849 to 1904 base silver and bronze coins, the sub-divisions of the dollar were used, since 
 1904 with the advent of a gold, silver, nickel and bronze coinage the monetary unit has been the 
 franc — five francs erpial a Danish West Indian dollar, one franc equals one hundred hits, five 
 bits equal one cent. 
 
The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 90 
 
 west indies. France at times lias made copper and billon coins for 
 her colonies in general, and a silver coinage in 1731 and 1732 for the 
 Windward Islands.* In recent years tokens in nickel have been struck 
 at Paris for Martinique and Guadeloupe. The Netherlands has but 
 recently issued a distinctive coinage for Curasao. 
 
 All of the home countries sent over, when they actually had to, a 
 limited supply of worn out silver coins and copper tokens. In reading 
 over the various acts and legislations of the different island govern- 
 ments, and also the petitions sent home, we see that the islanders 
 seldom if ever had enough actual money on hand, or if at any time 
 they did have, it was not of suitable denominations for their purposes. 
 The different islands had varying standards brought about by their 
 location, the influence of their foreign trade, or oftentimes by their 
 previous system of accounts, for in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth 
 Centuries they frequently changed hands on account of the wars 
 between the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch. 
 
 The currency of the English colonies comes under three epochs; 
 that before 1705, between 1705 and 1825, and from 1825 to the present, 
 due to important legislations regarding colonial currency made in 1705 
 and 1825. A glance at conditions in the islands in the early days is 
 absolutely necessary for an understanding of the monetary systems in 
 vogue. The growing trade with the Spanish Main and the rise of the 
 buccaneers brought in the Spanish -American money to the different 
 islands, though the system of accounts was largely kept in the money 
 of the home countries, such as pounds, shilling and pence ; and livres 
 and sols. In the Seventeenth Century the Spanish dollar or piece of 
 eight generally passed for four shillings sixpence, it often passed for five 
 shillings or the English crown. t In Jamaica the dollar was equivalent 
 to four shillings, and the eighth or real to sixpence. Heavy and light 
 pieces were generally accepted at the same value with the usual result 
 that the light coins drove out the heavy pieces, the good being shipped 
 away from the islands as merchandise. With the possible exception of 
 Jamaica, the home of the buccaneers, which always had a sufficient 
 currency, the colonies were continually enacting measures to keep what 
 little supply they had on the islands. As a consequence, the coins re- 
 maining kept passing at an enhanced value. 
 
 * These are the familiar Isles du Vent pieces, known on some of the English islands as 
 crimbals, from the name of their introducer at Barbados. 
 
 -j- For various notes on the English islands I am indebted to A History of Currency in the 
 British Colonies, by Robert Chalmers, London, 1893 ; and for the French possessions, to Ilistoire 
 monetaire des Colonies francaises, by E. Zay, Paris, 1892. 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 91 
 
 After the Act of 1705 most of the islands went on a gold standard, 
 Spanish and Brazilian gold coins being plentiful. The latter coins in 
 time proved the more popular, especially the pieces known as the half 
 dobra, better known as the half Johannes or Joe.* These pieces were 
 of four escudos, sometimes called pe<?a. These were extensively coun- 
 terfeited in North America and Birmingham about the end of the 
 Eighteenth Century and shipped to the West Indies.! The reason that 
 the Spanish money grew in disfavor was because in 1722 and again in 
 178G the Spanish reduced the fineness of gold in their pieces, bringing 
 the standard down gradually from 22 karats to 21 karats. Ah of this 
 tended towards confusion. As regards the silver, the real or the bit, 
 as it was called, was worth as a rule, seven and a half to ninepence ; 
 and instead of eight to a dollar, ten or eleven went to a dollar and in 
 some cases twelve or thirteen. 
 
 The necessity for small change under the dollar size, the need of 
 tenths, elevenths, twelfths or thirteenths of a dollar according to what 
 the bit might be, as well as the urgency of keeping what money there 
 was on the various islands, brought about the" expedient of cutting and 
 counterstamping the coins. This practice came into vogue at the close 
 of the Eighteenth and the beginning of the Nineteenth Centuries, and 
 almost died out about the middle of the latter century, though on the 
 island of Tortola the cut pieces were in use until 1889. The stamped 
 money can be called a phase of numismatics that has now passed away 
 and was, for the most part, confined to the English Colonies or those 
 islands where British influence prevailed. 
 
 As the cut silver of the West Indies has always been of great in- 
 terest, and its exact attributions in many cases has often been fraught 
 
 * Although generally called a Joe the piece in reality was a half. 
 
 f In connection with this counterfeiting the following extract from a letter written by Henry 
 William De Sassure, Director of the United States Mint, dated Oct. 27, 1795, is of interest. “ I 
 understand that none of the laws of Congress have provided any penalties for the various offences 
 which may be committed against the coinage. In most countries, strict laws are enacted, prohib- 
 iting the interference of individuals in this attribute of the sovereignty; and, in some, the very 
 possession of dies, or presses, or other implements essential in the coinage, is made criminal. In 
 this .country, Mints are said to be boldly erected at Baltimore, and elsewhere, professedly to imitate 
 the coins of foreign countries, and to furnish a debased gold coin for the West India markets; and 
 so much of the gold bullion which would be brought to the national Mint, is carried to these pri- 
 vate establishments, which degrade our national character.” In Am. Jour, of Numismatics, July, 
 1892, p. 13. 
 
 An interesting account of the making of Spanish doubloons in New York about 1821 is given 
 in a paper by Mr. Henry Russell Drowne in the Proceedings, American Numismatic and Archae- 
 ological Society for 1893, p. 41. 
 
92 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 with much uncertainty, the present monograph is an attempt to clear 
 up some of the difficulties. Many of the countermarks are even now 
 not definitely fixed, being assigned oftentimes to hearsay and prove- 
 nance. Many other stamps have never been placed for any island. 
 
 We can divide these cut and counterstamp'ed pieces into two 
 classes: 
 
 1. Money cut into segments or horizontal slices, largely to pro- 
 vide small change, often at an increase over its face value ; and money 
 with a hole cut in it, both the ring and the plug being used. 
 
 2. Money counterstamped, primarily to keep it on the island, 
 generally at some fixed value. 
 
 The gold money, which to-day is very rare, was often counter - 
 stamped but seldom cut. As there was a great deal of light, clipped and 
 sweated gold and counterfeits of low grade gold, many of the islands 
 accepted this only by weight. To rectify the light weight as well as to 
 make the gold, especially the half Joe, conform with whatever standard 
 the island might have, the practice of inserting a gold plug in the cen- 
 tre of the pieces came in. Not only were the gold coins counterfeited , '* 
 but the plugs were falsified as well with base alloy. 
 
 Another type of West Indian coins were the black dogs, as the 
 French estampes and the Cayenne sous were called, primarily intended 
 for the French Colony on the mainland of South America, but very 
 largely current throughout the Antilles. Even these small billon coins 
 were zealously guarded by the islanders, for nearly every island stamped 
 some initial or mark on them to confine them at home. They were 
 then called stampees by the English. 
 
 Barbados. Spanish pieces of eight f and Portuguese gold passed 
 current here. Both the light weight silver and gold were continually 
 driven from the island by special enactments. After 1825 British 
 money had a more extended circulation, and as in common with the 
 other West Indian Islands, British tokens were extensively used. Al- 
 
 * At the same time a villainous practice was introduced of importing base half- Johannes 
 from Birmingham, Sheffield and America. Robert Chalmers, op. c it., p. 20. 
 
 f The “piece of eight” as it was called by the English speaking colonists of the New 
 World is the coin from which our dollar is derived. It was called variously pieza de a ocho, 
 piastre, colonato, peso duro, escudo de plata, and by the French gourde. These were very exten- 
 sively coined in all of the Spanish mints of the Americas as well as in the later mints of Latin 
 American countries after their separation, though generally these latter pieces bore other names 
 of values. 
 
Tiie Coinage op tlie West Indies 
 
 93 
 
 though cut money was used,* Barbados never stamped any of its silver. 
 Pieces stamped with an i b have been assigned to the island but no leg- 
 islative authority has been found to substantiate this attribution.! In 
 1788 and 1792 an interesting coinage was issued by the home govern- 
 ment, and later private tokens were issued by Moses Tolanto, and at 
 Bridgetown by Thomas Lawler & Co. 
 
 The Leeward Islands. They comprised at first St. Kitts, Antigua, 
 Montserrat and Nevis, then later Dominica and the Virgin Islands in 
 the English group. 
 
 Dominica. In 1798 the Council ordered, to keep the money on the 
 island, that 4000 of the newest pillar dollars be handed over to an in- 
 genious silversmith for the purpose of having a piece not exceeding two 
 pennyweights cut out of the centre of each dollar; the cut dollar to 
 circulate at eight shillings threepence, and the piece cut out to pass at 
 one shilling three -halfpennies. (Figs. 2 and 3 show two varieties of 
 this cutting.) | If the ring did not weigh fifteen pennyweight, it was to 
 pass as sixpence per penny weight. § The piece cut out is a scalloped 
 plug of fifteen crenelles on which is stamped in script the letter T) 
 (Fig. 4). These small pieces were called “ mocos ” or two bits. In 
 
 * Chalmers, op. tit. , p. 53 : “A pistereen has been divided into four parts, three of which 
 became current, each at half the value of the pistereen, and the remaining fourth part contained 
 bullion equal in weight to the other three. An attempt was made to divide the dollar, but some 
 secret principle prevented the mutilations, or common sense rejected the imperfect coinage, as it 
 ought to have treated the others.” 
 
 f A great many of the counterstamps, especially on copper coins, so often arbitrarily attrib- 
 uted to the West Indies are probably nothing more than initials of persons or firms in England or 
 the United States, and consequently have no significance. 
 
 % The coarse crenelles on Eig. 3 cause this piece to resemble the similar style used on tlu', 
 island of Trinidad, but the latter can be distinguished by having coarser and more pointed cre- 
 nelles. see Fig. 82. 
 
 § Chalmers, op. tit., p. 98 ff. 
 
94 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 comparing a number of these mocos it is found that some of these plugs 
 are cut from halves or four real pieces (Fig. 5) . Whether these passed 
 for two bits, one and one -half bits, or single bits, I do not know. To 
 my knowledge, none of the rings of the four real piece have turned up. 
 it is also of interest that the crenations on the coins cut from the four 
 real pieces number often sixteen or seventeen (Fig. 5), as well as the 
 regulation fifteen of the cut dollar. The dollars or rings for the most 
 part had no stamps,* though a few specimens have been found with a 
 
 Fig. G. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 crowned 16 stamped on both sides (Fig. 6). Other stamped coins be- 
 longing to Dominica are as follows : dollars with a large round hole cut 
 out 23mm. in diameter, the ring counterstampedt with a crowned 12, 
 
 (Fig. 7) , the plug with a crowned 6 (Fig. 8) , the latter cut in half and 
 stamped with a crowned 3 (Fig. 9) , for twelve, six and three bits, and 
 the old dollar with the scalloped hole out of it, reholed the larger size, 
 these plugs with the scalloped hole in the centre were then stamped for 
 
 * Some of these unstamped dollars may belong to Trinidad as the T bits of this island are 
 found with fifteen as well as fourteen crenelles. In a Proclamation of Dominica of October 17, 
 1862, ordering the holders of mutilated and defective coins to exchange them at the treasury, we 
 notice the following rating : 25 shillings for 7 ring dollars, for 14 six-bit pieces and for 56 mocos 
 respectively, and 1 shilling for every 20 dogs. By this we see that no' notice is taken of the ring 
 dollars of 16 bits with the small cremated hole, only the ring of 12 bits, though the plugs for both 
 of the ring dollars are mentioned. 
 
 t In Spink’s Circular for Dec., 1905, col. 8761, there is shown one of these rings counter- 
 stamped four times. 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 95 
 
 four bits (Fig. 10) . Pistareens* are also found with a large round hole, 
 17mm., cut out of them leaving but a mere ring (Fig. 11). These were 
 valued at two bits. 
 
 r 
 
 mmm 
 
 Fig. 12. Fig. 13. Fig. 11. Fig. 15. 
 
 The Virgin Islands, Tortola . In 1801 an act was passed to stamp 
 half-dollars, quarter -dollars, shillings, pistareens, bits, half bits and 
 black dogs with the word tortola. An examination, however, of the 
 extant pieces shows only Spanish dollars cut in halves, quarters and 
 eighths, pistareens/ and reals in halves and the word spelled in various 
 ways (Figs. 12-15). They come with both crenated and plain cut 
 edges, the latter the more common. These pieces are about the com- 
 monest of all of the counterstamped coins as they were current in the 
 
 islands until 1889. The Cayenne sous are found with a large t on them 
 (Figs. 16, 17), t or with an h in a lozenge or square frame (Figs. 18, 
 19) , the initial of Hodge, grand proprietor of Tortola. These latter 
 have but recently been assigned to these islands. 
 
 * The pistareen had its origin in the Spanish Wars of Succession at the beginning of the 
 18th century, and represented two reals or a quarter of a peso of new plate. Though nominally 
 intended for the Spanish Peninsula only, and passing there for one-fifth of the old peso, on ac- 
 count of the baseness of the metal; they rapidly traveled to the New World where they were ex- 
 tensively used in the West Indies. This piece should not be confounded with the peseta or two 
 reals of the Spanish American mints which had the two hemispheres between the Pillars of 
 Hercules and which passed for one-quarter of a peso. 
 
 t In comparing these T stamps on the Tortola sous with a similar T stamp impressed only on 
 silver for Tobago (see Figs. 75-78) the thought may arise in some minds that all of these stamps 
 should be assigned to the same island. The Tortola silver is clearly fixed as the name in full is 
 stamped on the pieces, and the T bo stampees (Figs. 79, 80) can be for no other island than To- 
 bago. The sous stamped with a T can certainly be assigned to Tortola as these come frequently 
 stamped over the ii in lozenge mark of Tortola (Fig. 18). This leaves only the silver stamped 
 with a t. As far as I know there has been no question of its attribution other than to Tobago. 
 There is, however, a 17. S. cent of 1827 counterstamped with a t nearer in style to that on the 
 silver than to the t on the Cayenne sous, that may be for either Tortola or Tobago. 
 
Tiie American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 96 
 
 The Saints. Two other islands in the Leeward group called The 
 Saints, counterstamped cut halves (Fig. 20) and quarters of the Span- 
 ish dollars, together with the Cayenne sous (Fig. 21) and English half- 
 pennies and farthings, with a large indented s. The silver has the s 
 repeated three times, and for the most part is found with the later 
 additional Tortola counterstamp (Fig. 22). The s mark is also found 
 in conjunction with the St. Lucia pieces. 
 
 Fig. 23. Fig. 24. 
 
 Nevis. Small worn silver coins, generally Spanish reals or the 
 twelve sous pieces of the Isle du Vent type are found counterstamped 
 with nevis and some denomination as 1, 6, 7 (Fig. 23) , and 9, probably 
 the number of dogs, while the billon pieces simply have the word nevis 
 (Fig. 24) , as well as occasional silver pieces. In the Caldecott sale 
 there was a Spanish real with 9 over n in a heart-shaped indent as- 
 signed to this island. 
 
 Fig. 25. 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 St. Christopher or St. Kitts. Although the records show an act 
 was passed for stamping and cutting silver and copper coins, only the 
 black dogs can be definitely assigned to this island. These have s k 
 punched in them (Fig. 25), oftentimes combined with the Nevis mark. 
 Possibly the cut dollar uncounterstamped with the round hole 15mm 
 
 
 TIN 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 97 
 
 wide, may lie the piece referred to in the records (Fig. 2G) ; as yet no 
 ping has turned np to help in determining its identity. 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
 Montserrat. All silver pieces connterstamped with a large m are 
 now assigned here, i have seen this m connterstamped three times on 
 Spanish -American dollars cut in quarters, with an additional punch on 
 the reverse that has not been made out (Fig. 27) , as well as on pieces 
 of smaller denominations either cut in halves or quarters, but with a 
 single m. Many of these pieces have afterwards been connterstamped 
 for Tortola. This surcharge also conies on pistareens of Spain (Fig. 28) 
 and Danish West Indian pieces cut in halved or quarters and on the 
 base reals of Colombia (Fig. 29) . The m on the silver pieces is in re- 
 lief in an incuse square, on the Cayenne sous the mark is generally a 
 
 p 
 
 Fig. 30. Fig. 31. 
 
 crude m punched in the piece (Fig. 30) . The m in a circular indent is 
 now assigned to Martinique. Another class of coins, connterstamped 
 but not cut, are Spanish two reals, reals and half -real pieces counter- 
 struck with a crowned 18, 9 (Fig. 31), 7, 4 (Fig. 39) or 3 with an m 
 underneath in an oval depression. A quarter segment of a Spanish 
 dollar connterstamped with 2*6 is given to this island with some show 
 of authority. Spanish one real pieces cut in quarter segments but not 
 connterstamped were also used here. 
 
 Vieque or Crab Island. This is a small island off Porto Rico, 
 where Danish West Indian coins were connterstamped with a mark 
 like a rayed circle or star of twelve points (Fig. 32) . Spanish pieces 
 punched with an indented v are also assigned to this island but with 
 
98 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 Fig. 32. Fig. 33. 
 
 no absolute authority. The billon sous with a v punched in are doubt- 
 less correctly attributed here. The piece illustrated (Fig. 33), has 
 been stamped twice. 
 
 Antigua is represented only by a copper farthing dated 1836, is- 
 sued by Hannay & Coltart, merchants. 
 
 St. Martin. The French, who controlled part of the island seemed 
 to have stamped Cayenne sous and copper coins with a large flour -de- 
 lis (Fig. 34) . Of the several pieces noted with this stamp, it has been 
 found, almost always, in conjunction with a large m punch of about 
 the same style and coarseness as the fleur-de-lis. This additional m 
 mark has probably no connection with the similar Montserrat stamp 
 (see Fig. 30), but is a St. Martin counterstamp used by the Dutch. 
 There is also an extremely rare copper piece known, probably of native 
 manufacture, with st. martin 178- and fleur-de-lis in centre.* The 
 Dutch, who occupied the other part of the island used several punches. 
 We find small silver pieces (Fig. 35) counterstamped s T m or s m in a 
 beaded circle.! This mark has recently been thought to lie for Santa 
 Margarita, off the coast of Venezuela (see p. 112) , but probably the stamp 
 shown here is for St. Martin, as Zay (op. cit.) mentions the fleur-de-lis 
 counterstamp on a Cayenne sou as having stamped on the reverse s T m 
 in a grenetis. The more common stamp is s* martin and a bunch of 
 arrows counterstamped on cut quarters and fifths (Fig. 36) of Spanish 
 dollars 4 These latter are thought to have been issued about 1809 by 
 
 * Zay, p. 207. 
 
 f The s 3i mark is probably a misreading of the s T ji mark as the T is very small and placed 
 above the s. 
 
 X The Society has a specimen that is apparently a sixth. 
 
Tiie Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 99 
 
 the United Provinces from 49000 piastres taken from the Spaniards. 
 There are other pieces that probably can be assigned here, one having 
 simply the bunch of arrows without the name, the other with a small 
 c c punched in above the arrows and 1 b punched in the cut edges (Fig. 
 37) , probably for one bit. Both of these pieces are Spanish dollars cut 
 in quarter segments. J. Meili has assigned certain half Joes counter - 
 stamped with a 22 and a small head contained in a rectangular indent 
 to St. Martin (Fig. 38) , the pieces passing at the value of 22 florins of 
 
 Fig. 38. 
 
 Holland. The additional counterstamp of 22 in square is possibly for 
 Demerara and Esseqnibo. 
 
 Philipsburg on St. Martin counterstamped silver coins with a r 
 in a beaded circle (Fig. 39) and Cayenne sons with a p in a circular 
 
 Fig. 40. Fig. 41. Fig. 42. 
 
 indent (Figs. 40, 41) . Although this p counterstamp was originally 
 attributed to St. Martin, it has since been assigned to Parimaribo in 
 Dutch Guiana, though on what authority I do not know. As the p on 
 the Cayenne sons is seldom if ever seen without the additional s e 
 counterstamp of St. Eustatius, a neighboring island, its attribution to 
 Parimaribo seems to be far fetched. To further strengthen the attri- 
 bution to Philipsburg The American Numismatic Society has a speci- 
 men in silver (illustrated) bearing the additional connterstamp of the 
 nearby island of Montserrat. 
 
 St. Eustatius. This island during its tenure by the French be- 
 tween 1781-1801 counterstamped sons in great numbers with s e (Figs. 
 40, 41, 42) for St. Eustache, either punched in or on a depressed circle, 
 
100 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 and during the following Dutch occupation with s e s for St. Eustatius. 
 Bits and half -bits in brass were also issued on this island by Herman 
 Gossling. 
 
 St. Bartholomew. This one time Swedish possession in the An- 
 tilles stamped Cayenne sous, Swedish and Polish billon coins and early 
 IT. S. cents (Fig. 43) and less often silver pieces (Fig. 44), all with a 
 
 Fig. 43. Fig. 44. 
 
 peculiar shaped crown. On some pieces, I have seen the crown very 
 large and again in a hexagonal depression. Pesetas are known coun- 
 terstamped with an o crowned for Oscar I, 1844-1857, that may be for 
 this island. 
 
 Guadeloupe. This island to all intents and purposes we can treat 
 as French, though the English held it for awhile in the first quarter of 
 the Nineteenth Century. We have French edicts of 1802 causing the 
 silver dollars to have a large octagonal plug cut out 23mm. wide ; these 
 to be stamped 4 e (escalins) and r f (Fig. 45), the ring to be cut in 
 eight pieces and stamped r f (Fig. 46) to pass at one escalin each. An 
 
 Fig. 45. 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 
 Fig. 47. 
 
 Fig. 48. 
 
 edict of April 22, 1803, issued at Basse-Terre commissioned two men 
 to stamp the Portuguese moidore with a large o. This is undoubtedly 
 the counterstamp of a a in a fifteen -rayed star. Evidently there was 
 a need of this distinguishing mark on other coins for we find this 
 stamp both on silver (Fig. 47) and French copper coins. The large 
 copper pieces dated 1767 for the Colonies in general were sent to 
 Guadeloupe, but not being accepted by the people, who were accus- 
 
The Coinage of tiie West Indies 
 
 tomed to the billon pieces, were held in the treasury. In 1793, prob- 
 ably owing to a shortage of billon coins, they were counterstamped k f 
 in a garlanded oval (Fig. 48) , effacing the fleur-de-lis,* and put in cir- 
 culation for three sous nine deniers, or a quarter escalin. They were 
 given the name of col lots by the natives from the name of the person 
 instrumental for their re-issue. t In the J. Meili sale, Schulman, May, 
 
 1910, lot 2032, this counterstamp is found struck over the g crowned 
 counterstamp used during the English occupation of 1810-1813 (see 
 below), on a quarter segment of a French five livre piece (Fig. 49). 
 This would show that the stamp was revived again, probably follow- 
 ing the Revolution of 1848. 
 
 In 1811 during the English occupation, the dollars were pierced 
 with a square hole of twelve crenations and stamped with a crowned g 
 in an oblong indentation (Figs. 50, 51)4 the plug having a g radiated 
 (Fig. 52) , the former to pass for nine livres, the latter for twenty sous. 
 Pistareens uncounterstamped also come with a large square hole in 
 them, and have recently been assigned to Guadeloupe. Other dollars, 
 cut in quarters and stamped with a crowned g in three places (Figs. 53, 
 54) ,§ were said to have passed for two livres five sous. Span i sh - Amer - 
 ican dollars and French ecus of Louis XIY were used for this purpose. 
 
 * It is interesting to note that this u F stamp so carefully obliterating the fleur-de-lis of the 
 Bourbons is still dominated by the royal crown. 
 
 f Leon Belmont in L’Antillaisc, July, 1005. I'ointe-a-Pitre. 
 
 J Fig. 51 is curious in having the G inverted under the crown. 
 
 § Fig. 54 shows a larger countermark. 
 
102 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 Again we find a curious cutting with the same countermark, apparently 
 dollars were cut with large square holes with about twenty-eight cre- 
 
 nelles, and the rings were then cut in quarters (Fig. 55). I do not 
 know of a plug of this piece ever having been noted. A very similar 
 countermark but in an oval shaped depression is noted on some half 
 dobras, stamped also with 82 10 in oblong indent (Fig. 56), valued at 
 eighty -four livres ten sous colonial silver. Under an ordinance of 1811 
 French silver of twenty-four (Fig. 57), twelve and six sols were 
 
 stamped with a larger g- crowned and passed for forty, twenty and ten 
 sous, also worn Spanish reals and half reals thus stamped passed for 
 twenty and ten sous. The French again came in possession of the 
 colony in 1811, but apparently caused no more coins to be counter - 
 stamped except miscellaneous silver and copper coins of various na- 
 tionalities. These bear a little b f in a rectangular indent (Fig. 58) 
 and was probably a mark following the Revolution of 1848. The coins 
 with the counterstamp g p crowned in indented circle, so often attribu- 
 ted to Guadeloupe, are for the Azores since 1887. A similar stamp with 
 p m crowned is for Mozambique. Copper pieces are sometimes found 
 with G t in a dentilated rectangle, or punched in, or g t in monogram, # 
 probably for Grande -Terre, a part of Guadeloupe; with ig in heart- 
 shaped depression on one side, possibly for lie Gaudeloupe, and on the 
 other side with l s for Les Salutes, another French possession, or l s 
 alone in circular indent ; with g-ld for Guadeloupe. La Desirade, or 
 
 * Silver Spanish-American reals are also known counterstamped with this monogram. 
 
This Coinage of tiie West Indies 
 
 10 IS 
 
 with i 4* d iii square depression for the same place ; with m: g proba- 
 bly for Marie Galenic, and with p. r for Pointe a Pitre. All of these 
 latter attributions are but conjecture. 
 
 The Danish WfisT Indies having had a good supply of coins from 
 home have only once been forced to counterstamp coins. This was be- 
 tween 1848 and 1803 during the first war of Schleswig-Holstein against 
 Prussia. These pieces have a script f r vii crowned (Fig. 59), or in 
 smaller script letters f e. (Fig. 59c ) for Frederick YII. Mr. Schulman 
 lias informed me that he has had an American quarter counterstamped 
 f K but the letters not joined together. 
 
 The Windward Islands. In the English colonies of Grenada, St. 
 Vincent and St. Lucia eleven bits as a rule went to a dollar. 
 
 Grenada. Dollars on this island before 1800 were cut into 
 elevenths and counterstamped with a large incuse G for nine pence 
 (Fig. GO) . Dollars were cut privately into smaller segments and 
 stamped. We find also dollars cut into halves, thirds and sixths and 
 stamped with a similar style g. Although we have no authority for 
 assigning these latter pieces to Grenada, they are generally placed 
 
 Fig. (SO. Fig. (51. 
 
 there. The pieces curiously come counterstamped t r and a value for 
 Trinidad (Fig. 84). 
 
 The American Numismatic Society has an interesting square piece 
 cut from a Spanish dollar on which is a large G punched (Fig. Gl) . 
 The piece measures 15 x 17mm., and has twenty-four crenations. The 
 attribution of this to Grenada is not certain, it may be for Guadaloupe, 
 
104 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 as French copper pieces and English halfpennies of 1806 are known 
 with this stamp. Tostons (four reals) of various Mexican mints, conn - 
 terstamped with 9 a are given for Grenada. Whether these are cor- 
 rectly attributed or not is a question. The pieces noticed have been 
 dated 1842 and 1853 showing that wherever they were used it was at a 
 comparatively recent date. 
 
 On the island were many light weight gold half dobras or Johannes. 
 In 1798 these were ordered to be plugged with gold to bring up their 
 weight. Those weighing eight pennyweight twelve grains or more, 
 were to have a a stamped on the centre, those weighing less, to have a 
 <t stamped three times near the edge (Fig. 62) . Besides the three g’s 
 
 on the edge, an i w in script is noted on the plug. Fig. 63 shows a 
 similar piece with an additional counterstamp i h in rectangle. A sim- 
 ilar counterstamp is noted by J. Meili in several of his publications as 
 being impressed in the centre of a plug on a half Joe. What island 
 this is intended for is not known, though it may be for Trinidad. 
 Spanish doubloons are also known with larger size g’s counterstamped 
 on the edge. 
 
 St. Vincent. 
 stamped with an 
 
 An act of 1797 ordered that the dogs and silver be 
 sv in monogram. We find. Spanish dollars cut in 
 
 Fig. 64. 
 
 halves and quarters (Fig. 64) counterstamped thus three times, and 
 pieces cut into eighths with one stamp impressed on them. The s in 
 this monogram is sometimes retrograde (Fig. 65). Sometime after this 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 105 
 
 a plan was adopted to cut a large circular hole from the dollars, the 
 plug to he worth one half of the ring, the ring thus made to pass for a 
 full dollar and the plug for a half.* Until recently these pieces were 
 not located. Now the ring dollars with round hole of 23mm. counter- 
 stamped s over xii (Fig. 66), and the plugs with s over vi (Fig. 67), 
 
 Fig. 66. 
 
 formerly assigned to The Saints, have been disposed of for St. Vincent. 
 Recently there has been found an uncut peseta with counterstamp 
 
 Fig. 67. Fig. 68. 
 
 s | iv-o | b (Fig. 68) in three lines in depression in form of a cross. 
 These pieces circulated for twelve, six, and four and one-half hits. 
 The gold half Joes on this island were mostly light weight and orders 
 
 Fig. 69. 
 
 were given to plug these to bring them up to standard. Probably the 
 pieces plugged and counterstamped a h on the plug and s in square 
 indent three times near edge, are these pieces (Fig. 69) . These, based 
 solely from having an s on them, have been assigned to the Virgin 
 
 * Chalmers, op. c it., p. 85. 
 
The American Journal op Numismatics 
 
 106 
 
 Islands, but it is to be noted that the s used in the Virgin Islands is 
 incused while the s on the gold piece is in relief, and compares very 
 closely in style with the s on the ring pieces of St. Vincent. As these 
 pieces are known with the additional neighboring Grenada stamp, this 
 would tend to strengthen the s stamp for St. Vincent. 
 
 St. Lucia. On this island the French system of accounts was 
 used. No ring dollars were made here, but the pieces were cut either 
 in segments or in parallel divisions. The earliest counterstamp seems 
 to he in the form of an amulet or ring. Pieces have been found cut 
 from Spanish coins as follows: a third of a peseta with one amulet 
 
 (Fig. TO) with a value of one escalin or fifteen sous, a quarter of a four 
 real piece with two amulets valued at one and a half escalins or twenty - 
 two sous six deniers, and a third of a four real piece with three amulets 
 valued at two escalins or thirty sous.* The next form of counterstamp 
 was probably the s l interlaced, stamped twice on Spanish dollars cut 
 in half, and three times on dollars cut into thirds and quarters (Fig. 
 
 71) , and stamped twice on pieces cut into sixths, these passed at the 
 rate of eight, six, four and three escalins respectively. Some have 
 their edges plain cut while others are crenated. It is probable that an 
 eighth also was used ; this has one stamp on it and would pass for two 
 escalins. The four real piece was also cut, as one divided in half with 
 the stamps on it is known. Copper pieces are found, such as English 
 halfpennies counterstamped with s l, probably for this island. 
 
 A pistareen was also cut in quarters and the edges crenated but not 
 stamped, that passed for three stampees or eleven sous three deniers. 
 In 1813 a new form of cut money was issued. Spanish dollars, halves 
 and quarters were cut in parallel lines making three divisions. The 
 central portion of the dollar was valued at six livres fifteen sous (Fig. 
 
 72) , or nine bits, the two side pieces at two livres' five sous each, or 
 three bits (Fig. 73), the pieces cut from the four real piece passed for 
 three livres seven sous six deniers, or four and one -half bits, and one 
 
 * Zay, op. tit., p. 217. 
 
The Coinage of ti-ie West Indies 
 
 107 
 
 livre six deniers, or one and one-half bits, the pieces cut from the two 
 reals at one livre thirteen sons nine deniers, or two and one -quarter 
 bits, and eleven sons three deniers, or three stampees. In 1817 the 
 
 values were reduced one -ninth. All of these pieces bore the stamp 
 S: Lucie. The cut money was withdrawn in 1851. In 1811 pieces of one 
 franc, halves and quarters of Napoleon were stamped with a round 
 mark on the head- 'for use here. Copper sols of Louis XVI are known 
 stamped s l in an oblong depression and have been assigned to St. 
 Lucia, as well as the mark s l in crowned shield stamped on English 
 halfpennies and U. S. cents. 
 
 The s v counterstamp of St. Vincent mnd the s l and S : Lucie 
 marks of St. Lucia have been counterfeited in recent years, so that ex- 
 treme caution must be used in studying these pieces. 
 
 Tobago. Although we know Tobago used cut money, the history 
 of its use is somewhat obscure. The dollars with the octagonal hole 
 (Fig. 74) and the plug with a plain indented t are probably the pieces 
 
 Fig. 75. 
 
 Fig. 74. Fig. 76. 
 
 used on this island (Figs. 75, 7(1). This dollar passed for eight shill- 
 ings threepence and the plug for nine pence, making the dollar there 
 worth nine shillings. Plugs also are found of hexagonal shape with a 
 similar t impressed upon them, though none of the ring dollars from 
 which these plugs come are known. An eighth segment of a Spanish 
 dollar is known with a similar t (Fig. 77) that may possibly belong to 
 this island. Recently there has turned up a worn English shilling of 
 
108 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 George II with a small t impressed upon it (Fig. 78), that may belong 
 in this series. Among the commonest of the billon pieces are those 
 
 Fig. 77. Fig. 7S. Fig. 70. Fig. 80. 
 
 stamped t.b (Fig. 79) or x'u (Fig. 80) or simply t b, and more rarely 
 tobago in rectangular border. The latter also is known on a U. S. 
 cent. In the Caldecott sale was an Irish halfpenny of 1822 stamped 
 t b in panel, a British sixpence of 1810 counterst-amped i T and a half- 
 penny of 1709 stamped with r t crowned, all assigned to Tobago, as 
 well as a pistareen unstamped but with a large hexagonal hole (Fig. 
 
 Fig. si. 
 
 81) . I have also seen a U. S. cent of 1827 counterst-amped with a t 
 similar to that on the silver plugs, see note to Virgin Island, p. 95. 
 
 Trinidad. The English came into possession of the island in 1797 
 and in 1803 a committee recommended that the dollar be cut into two, 
 four, eight and twelve parts, but- the governor did not follow this ad- 
 vice, though private individuals cut silver reals into halves and quar- 
 ters. In 1811 dollars had their centres cut out, the ring passing for 
 
 Fig. 82. 
 
 nine shillings and the centre for one shilling. The cutting was circu- 
 lar and was formed of fourteen or fifteen crenelles (Fig. 82), the dollar 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 109 
 
 being unstamped* while the plug was impressed with a script t radi- 
 ated (Fig. 83) . These are known as t bits or macuquinas. It is said 
 that many persons on the island cut dollars with holes of all sizes and 
 dimensions, t besides importing counterfeits of the t bits. At one time 
 Spanish coins were cut into segments. We find dollars cut into halves, 
 thirds (Fig. 84) and sixths, and stamped in one angle t r in a square 
 depression, and in an other the value in bits, as 6, 4 and 2, and the 
 pistareen cut in thirds and stamped with a 1. All of these pieces that 
 have come to notice have had the additional counterstamp g at their 
 points for Grenada, t 
 
 The pistareen impressed with a stamp in the form of a lattice with 
 a sun or multi -pointed star in the centre (Fig. 85) , after being assigned 
 
 to nearly every island in the Antilles, probably belongs to Trinidad, 
 for according to Mr. Porter of Dominica, many have been found there. 
 The mark in the centre may be intended to represent in miniature, the 
 shape of the t bit. This stamp is peculiar to the pistareens of Spanish 
 mints and is still common, being met with on the issues of Charles 111, 
 Charles IV, Joseph Napoleon and Ferdinand VII. Mr. J. B. Caldecott 
 in the British Numismatic Journal, Vol. I, p. 292, describes a Spanish- 
 American peso stamped with a large crowned t p and places the pieces 
 for Trinidad on the conjecture that the letter was intended for an r 
 with its tail broken off. The piece however was certainly not stamped 
 for Trinidad but probably by Portugal for some purpose. Many cata- 
 loguers have attributed the dollar stamped with g r or g r crowned to 
 Trinidad § (Fig. 107-110) , but there is nothing in the records of the island 
 to show that they stamped dollars without cutting or mutilating them 
 as well, although we have plenty of evidence that whole dollars were 
 used extensively on the island hand in hand with the cut dollars. 
 
 * See note under Dominica, p. !).'!. 
 
 i We have just noted that the pieces were cut into plugs with fourteen or fifteen crenelles 
 possibly one of these may he- an island counterfeit. 
 
 % As this a looks not unlike a c, some cataloguers have assigned this mark to Curacao. 
 
 § One of the e k crowned pieces (Fig. 1 10) may he for Trinidad. For further discussion 
 see under Jamaica, p. lid. 
 
The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 1 1 0 
 
 Plugged Portuguese money was in use on the island but was ex- 
 ported very largely to Grenada and St. Vincent. It is not on record 
 what the distinguishing mark on these gold pieces was, possibly the 
 pieces stamped with an i h are the ones, the governor of the island at 
 that time being General Hislop. Under Grenada is shown a half Joe 
 bearing the Grenada mark as well as the additional i h stamp (Fig. 63) . 
 As we know that the half Joe stamped on Trinidad was sent to Gren- 
 ada, this coin showing the two stamps can partly warrant our assigning 
 the i h mark to Trinidad. 
 
 No dogs were apparently stamped on this island though mention is 
 made of stampees or estampes. An English halfpenny is known with 
 the counterstamp 1 Stampee. H. E. Rapseys at Port of Spain issued 
 a token for one -half stampee as also did J. G. D’Ade & Co. The 
 stampees were the billon sous issued by the French, and generally 
 known as black dogs or noirs. These were counterstamped by the col- 
 onies to circulate at a half noir advance. They passed in Trinidad for 
 threepence or a quarter bit. 
 
 In the middle of the Nineteenth Century coppers were stamped 
 here with a large f d ( Fig. 86) . These letters were the initials of a local 
 barber, Francois Declos who placed this mark an all pence and half- 
 pence which came into his hands and reissued the coins at two and 
 one -half and one and one -half cents respectively. They were freely 
 received at the barber’s valuation. 
 
 Martinique. This island is a French possession though the En- 
 glish held it off and on in the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centu- 
 ries. We find an ordinance of 1805 causing the half Joes to be stamped 
 with 20 or 22 over a small eagle (Figs. 87, 88), to be valued at twenty 
 or twenty-two livres in silver of the island schedule. The value of 
 twenty -two livres to be given to true Joes of Portugal or Brazil, the 
 value of twenty to be given to those Joes made in North America, En- 
 gland or other countries. It is a noteworthy fact that this counter- 
 stamp is not confined to the half Joe, for we find four milreis and mil- 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 111 
 
 reis as well as the small half escudo of Johannes V with this mark. 
 This stamp is said to have been counterfeited in recent years. 
 
 In 1797 during the English occupation, silver dollars and half dol- 
 lars were cut in quarters to pass for three escalins and twenty-two sols 
 six deniers, respectively, the two real pieces to be cut in thirds to pass 
 for one escalin fifteen sols, these pieces to he denti bated on their cut 
 edge. Half dollars were also cut in twelfths the same way. None of 
 these coins bore stamps. Pieces generally attributed to Martinique, 
 though some people doubt this assignment, are those dollars and the 
 subdivisions with heart shaped holes in them. These at one time were 
 current on the island but no act has been found authorizing tins mark. 
 
 The style of cutting varies; some have a large blunt heart -cut with 
 rayed borders, others have a more pointed heart with a garland -like 
 border. Both the rings and the plugs are known in all denominations 
 from the eight real to the half real (Figs. 89-92). A third style is a 
 smaller sharp pointed heart with bevelled edges and no borders (Fig. 
 93) . This style is found chiefly on the pistareen and the one real 
 
 Fig. 9.'!. Fig. 94. Fig. 95. Fig. 96. 
 
 piece. The plugs of these are unknown. Ecus of France have been 
 found with a small stamp impressed upon them in the form of a heart 
 Gmm. wide, composed of eighteen converging rays. French and Amer- 
 ican copper and silver coins come with a crowned heart in an oblong 
 incuse (Fig. 94), and also copper pieces with simply a heart shaped 
 punch. French copper pieces are known with an m or l u in a similar 
 
112 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 depression and the Cayenne sons and certain thin brass dans with m in 
 a circular indent (Figs. 95, 96), are now reassigned to Martinique in- 
 stead of Montserrat. Colonial sous of the c crowned type having a 
 small heart punched in the centre of the c belong here. Pieces coun- 
 terstamped st. pe, s p or sp in monogram are attributed to St. Pierre. 
 
 Santa Margarita. The copper and the rarer silver coins formerly 
 attributed to Santa Marta in Colombia, are now assigned to this island, 
 lying off the coast of Venezuela. There are dollars known counter- 
 stamped s m in an oval with dotted border, that may be assigned here, 
 but we have no proof.* 
 
 Fig. !)9. 
 
 Curacao. This is a Dutch island though most of the cut coinage 
 belongs to the English occupation during 1807-1815. Very little is 
 known about these pieces. Probably the first issue is the Spanish dollar 
 cut in quarters (Fig. 97) and fifths, stamped with a rosace of live petals. 
 These are said to have passed for twenty-one and eighteen stivers re- 
 spectively. Specimens have also been found counterstamped on cut 
 fifths of coins of Peter Leopold of Tuscany (Fig. 98). Also pieces 
 are known cut into sixths of a dollar; whether these are counterfeits, 
 or the fifths cut down, or a regular issue for fifteen stivers, is not 
 known. A very similar rosace with the additional stamp of a 21 in a 
 
 Fig. 100. Fig. 101. 
 
 circular indent is found on quarter segments of Mexican dollars (Fig. 
 99) , and as the crenations are cut in a similar manner, the pieces must 
 be, in all probability, for Curasao. About 1815 another fifth appeared 
 with a figure 3 in a dentilated circle (Fig. 100) ; this is said to have 
 
 * For discussion of a similar mark, see p. 98, under St. Martin. 
 
The Coinage oe the West Indies 113 
 
 been issued to pass for three reals, probably when the Dutch regained 
 possession of the island. Dollars cut in sevenths with this stamp are 
 known. A similar counterstamp with the 3 in a linear circle is found 
 on sixths of dollars (Fig. 101). These segments with the 3 counter- 
 stamp are sometimes assigned to New Amsterdam now in British 
 Guiana. On account of the numerous varieties of this counterstamp, 
 these pieces must have been thus stamped for a number of years and 
 probably in several of the Dutch colonies, for according to a note in the 
 sale catalogue of the Speelman coins, Schulman, Feb. 24, 1908, these 
 pieces are still current for fifty cents (half guilders) in Curasao, Suri- 
 name and St. Martin. 
 
 During the English occupation English shillings passed at eighteen 
 stivers with the counterstamp, a crowned c 18, Spanish reals at nine 
 stivers with c 9 in oval (Fig. 102) and half reals for live stivers with 
 
 Fig. 102. Fig. 103. 
 
 c 5. There are also Spanish pistareens counterstamped with an 18 
 in square indent (Fig. 103) , as well as reals counterstamped with a 
 large 9 in an oval (Fig. 104), also half reals counterstamped with a 5 
 (Fig. 105) that may belong here. Some time later the Dutch gulden 
 was (nit into quarters and stamped with a script o in circular depres- 
 
 Fig. 104. Fig. 105. Fig. 100. 
 
 sion to pass for nine stivers (Fig. 106) . Other pieces issued have been 
 silver reals in 1821, billon stivers in 1822, and in recent years coins of 
 Wilhelmina of the value of quarter and tenth guldens. Tokens have 
 been issued by Jersurum A Co., j x c°., by J. J. Naar, j j n, and by 
 Leiba & Co., l x c. 
 
 •Jamaica. This island was always well supplied with currency so 
 that the government was not forced to adopt the measures used in the 
 Antilles in general. Consequently we find no cut money. As the 
 
The American Journal or Numismatics 
 
 Spanish dollar, or piece of eight, was valued here at four shillings, 
 which was from six pence to a shilling under its current rating in other 
 colonies, the practice of clipping coins became very extensive here, re- 
 sulting in time in a badly disorganized system of values. In order to 
 
 Fig. 107. 
 
 put the currency on a fixed basis the Assembly in 1758 passed a law 
 to stamp a certain number of good gold and silver coins with the let- 
 ters g e in a circular indent on both sides of the piece (Fig. 107). A 
 new valuation was put on these pieces as the following list of the coins 
 so stamped will show. 
 
 £ s. (1. 
 
 Doubloons 
 
 Two pistole pieces 
 
 Pistoles 
 
 Half-pistoles 
 
 Quarter-pistoles 
 
 Dollars (eight reals) 
 
 Half-dollars (4 reals) 
 
 ( ») uarter-dollars (pesetas) 
 Rials (reals) 
 
 Half rials 
 
 Quartiles (quarter reals) • 
 
 2 10 
 
 1 5 
 
 12 (3 
 
 6 3 
 
 G 8 
 
 ‘ 3 4 
 
 1 8 
 
 10 
 5 
 
 24 
 
 The doubloon is worth approximately sixteen dollars and the pis- 
 tole four dollars. The gold thus stamped is very rare. Dollars are 
 known bearing the additional stamp 1763. The reason for this date is 
 not known. Another style of counterstamp appeared after 1806. This 
 was a crowned g b and is found only on dollars. The stamp has seve- 
 ral forms. The first one is rather coarsely executed in a square indent 
 and has been noted on pieces dated 1806, 1807 and 1810 (Fig. 108) . The 
 second one is more carefully engraved and the indent has rounded cor- 
 ners (Fig. 109) . I have noted this type on dollars of 1811, 1813, 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 115 
 
 1814 and 1818. The third stamp has the g r crowned, punched in 
 without indented panel (Fig. 110). The dates found for this punch 
 are 1806 and 1817. It, seems hardly possible that Jamaica would use 
 three different stamps in so short a time, therefore this last stamp is 
 very likely for some other locality. It will be noticed that the dates of 
 
 Fig. 108. Fig. 100. Fig. 110. 
 
 the coins on which the last mentioned stamp is impressed fall into the 
 periods of both the first and second mentioned stamps, which would be 
 an argument to further preclude its use for Jamaica. It is therefore 
 probable that this third stamp, different in many ways from the other 
 two, does not belong here. All of these marks have, at times, been 
 attributed to Trinidad, so that this latter stamp may be for that island. 
 
 Copper pennies are also known with g r crowned. Cut silver with 
 w r crowned has sometimes been attributed to Jamaica, but these cut 
 pieces belong to Sierra Leone ( Vide p. 123, Fig. 131) . Tokens have been 
 issued by M. Howard, William Smith, Thomas Lundie & Co., George 
 Brandon and Thomas Lunday & Co. In 1869 pennies and halfpennies 
 in nickel were first issued for Jamaica and farthings in 1880, the reason 
 for the use of this metal being the dislike of the negroes for copper. 
 
 Haiti. The coinage of this island is extensive enough to take up 
 separately, so we will confine ourselves only to the counterstamped 
 coins. There are only a few varieties and all are rare. A French edict 
 of July 13, 1781, caused certain Spanish American coins to be stamped 
 with the mark of the colony, to pass at the value of an escalin and half- 
 esealin (real and half-real). The mark was a crowned anchor and c 
 
116 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 interlaced in an irregular indent (Fig. 111). Under the first republic 
 a large ring on the top of the anchor was substituted for the crown. 
 These pieces were struck at Vi lie du Cap, the capital. Copper pieces 
 with a crude l-c- in rectangular indent probably were struck at this 
 place. About 1792 French coppers were counterstamped with s : d in 
 rectangular indent for Saint Domingue, as the island was called by the 
 French, and between 1805 and 1809 pieces were stamped with n sd in 
 two lines, for Napoleon, Saint Domingue. 
 
 During the uprising against the French the natives under Jacques 
 Dessaliens (1804-1806) struck silver by simply punching on flans in a 
 cone shaped indent, a crude head and the value 25 (Fig. 112) , 30 or 50, 
 and likewise the value in rectangular indent on the reverse side. 
 
 Cuba and Porto Rico. Spain stamped Spanish -American, Peru- 
 vian and other dollars and gold onzas with a crowned f. 7? (Fig. 113) or 
 a crowned y iu (Fig. 114) in a circular depression (Ferdinand VII, Isa- 
 
 bella II) for her colonies in general. On account of the dates found 
 on the coins stamped, the Ferdinand counterstamp could not have been 
 authorized before 1832. Another stamp peculiar to Cuba, is an outline 
 key, the arms of Havana. This stamp comes in two forms; a raised 
 key in an indented outline with a lozenge shaped bow, on small copper 
 coins of Charles and Johanna of Spain (Fig. 115) A and a more modern 
 looking key on various foreign silver coins (Fig. 115c). This latter 
 stamp is comparatively recent, as the pieces that have come to my 
 attention have had dates ranging from 1862 to 1874. 
 
 * This first stamp of a key is probably the oldest countermark used in the Western Hemi- 
 sphere, and, in this form, is always found impressed on the copper pieces of Charles and Johanna 
 issued from the mint in Mexico. The ancient look of the key makes it probably a stamp of about 
 that early period, late Sixteenth Century. It is claimed by some to be the mark of San Domingo 
 when under Spanish rule, though I have been unable to locate any authority confirming this. 
 
117 
 
 The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 At one time within the past forty years Spanish copper coins had 
 holes bored in the centre, 3mm., for use in Porto Rico (Fig. 116) . 
 
 Tig. 115a. Fig. 110. 
 
 Inagua. This island in the Bahamas connterstamped certain 
 money. Pistareens are met with stamped with an i in an octagon (Fig. 
 117), and later,* another mark, 215 (Fig. 118), probably for two shil- 
 lings live pence. The piece illustrated bears the additional stamp 20, 
 whether a reduction to twenty pence or not, I do not know. 
 
 Fig. 117. Fig. 118. 
 
 Demerara and Eskequibo. Although this colony is not a part of 
 the West Indies its proximity and trade relations and the similar treat- 
 ment of the coins that passed current there, bring the cut and coun- 
 terstamped coins into the series. During the English occupancy an 
 ordinance was passed in 1798 that gold Joes weighing seven engels 
 
 Fig. 119. 
 
 should pass at twenty-two guilders, and those weighing less than that 
 should pass at the same value for one year, but should bear the stamp 
 E D in a square frame for Essequibo and the same stamp in a round 
 frame for Demerara (Fig. 119). Pieces stamped with 22 in a square 
 
 * I have noted pieces dated 1846 and 185.'i. 
 
118 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 frame are also assigned here.* About 1803 the silver dollar was pierced 
 to make in all, four guilders or twelve bits ; a hole of nineteen crenelles 
 was cut, the dollar being stamped in beaded oval depression e 3 '.g'.i D (Fig 
 
 Fig. 120. 
 
 120) for three guilders, and the plug e '.e T s\ for three bits (Fig. 121) .t 
 There are still many counterstamped and cut coins, the locations 
 of which have not been determined. An interesting stamp of a script 
 b in a circle is found impressed on half Joes or English sovereigns, 
 
 Fig. 121 
 
 
 -nr-i 
 
 V W '~ 
 
 ■■ 
 
 . ' A 
 
 &Y': 
 
 cv- m, ft' 
 
 :• 
 
 Fig. 122. Fig. 12:!. 
 
 oftentimes on an inserted plug - (Fig. 122) . Some have attributed this to 
 Berbice, now in British Guiana, but as coins with this counterstamp 
 are-found more frequently in the United States than elsewhere, it prob- 
 ably belongs to this country. Some cataloguers, without any proof, 
 
 * The 22 in square ■frame shown on Fig. 38 is possibly this mark. 
 
 f It is interesting to note that the facts as handed down to us vary from the numismatic 
 evidence we glean from the coins. Chalmers in his Colonial Currency, p. 127, gives the follow- 
 ing: “ Mr. E. A. V. Abraham, in his pamphlet of 1891 on the Coins of British Guiana, says : 
 ‘ The Government cut pieces in the shape of a star, a crescent, and a circle from the dollar pieces, 
 
 milled the cut-out, and the space so cut from, and mint-marked the cut-out pieces The 
 
 smaller coins were treated in a similar manner. The Spanish pieces to represent a “ sixpence ” 
 (? half real) was partially cut across in three in the shape of a triangle, and when a purchase was 
 made, the purchaser broke a piece off his “ sixpence,” and when he had broken three pieces off 
 (each being a penny), the triangular piece left was a “bit.” These pieces are called cut-bits. 
 The dollar was cut in five triangular pieces, each representing a quarter of one dollar. . . . The 
 cut edges are milled, and the pieces mint-marked.’ ” 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies lilt 
 
 have claimed this to be one of Ephraim B rasher’s marks.* His mark 
 was an e b in an oval, and as an English sovereign is known hearing 
 both stamps (Fig. 123) , this fact would make it fairly convincing that 
 the script b is not Brasher’ s. In the catalogue of the Murdock sale! 
 there is a note to the effect that pieces thus marked circulated in Geor- 
 gia during the Colonial period. 
 
 The half Joe hearing small t p in rectangle (Fig. 124), stamped on 
 a plug, has not been assigned as yet. The coin itself on account of its 
 crude workmanship, is interesting as it may be # one of the counterfeit 
 half Joes made in the United States, referred to on p. 91. This t i> 
 mark has probably no connection with the large t p crowned found 
 stamped on a Spanish -American peso mentioned on p. 109. 
 
 J. Meili has described in several of his publications, a number of 
 Portuguese gold pieces bearing various marks and punches. Some of 
 these had doubtless an official status, but sufficient clues are lacking for 
 their attribution. Unfortunately there have been in recent years some 
 
 p 
 
 false counterstamps made impressed on gold coins often in conjunc- 
 tion with genuine marks. 
 
 One of the common stamps on silver coins is what is apparently a 
 double -headed fleur-de -lis (Fig. 125). Some have thought this mark 
 
 * Brash or was employed in 171)2 by the authorities of the United States mint to make assays 
 for the mint on sundry coins of gold and silver, vide American Journal of Numismatics, July, 
 1892, p. 20. 
 
 t Sold by S. W A II., July, lOO.'i, lot 582. 
 
The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 120 
 
 to have reference to some French colony. The shape of the fleur-de- 
 lis would almost preclude this. I think the best conclusion concerning 
 this punch, on account of it being found on so many mutilated United 
 States coins, is that it was a stamp formerly used at one of the United 
 States sub -treasuries to impress on coins submitted for redemption, 
 which were then returned to the owner as unredeemable. These 
 punches have varied at different times, and inquiries as to whether 
 this fleur-de-lis was one of the stamps used, has resulted in no infor- 
 mation from the government. 
 
 The small round plug impressed with a crude 2 (Fig. 126), has up 
 
 Fig. 12G. 
 
 to date remained a mystery, no ring or dollar from which it was re- 
 moved has turned up to identify the piece. The real with a 7 and 
 some mark resembling an s above it within a depressed oval (Fig. 127) 
 has so far been unsolved. Possibly the mark above the seven is a 
 symbol for pence (d) . 
 
 There has recently come to light an eighth of a Spanish -American 
 dollar counterstamped simply with the date 1838 (Fig. 128), which 
 must refer to the West Indies, for in that year an Order in Council 
 effected certain remedial measures concerning currency and valuations 
 for the different British islands, by which decree the dollar was rated 
 at four shillings twopence, and the doubloon at sixty-four shillings. 
 Bo far, however, the exact attribution to any one island has been futile. 
 
 The Cayenne sous are sometimes found counterstamped with vari- 
 ous letters; some that have come to the writer’s attention are w c d, 
 c w c, v & d, e. h. These were undoubtedly private stamps of mer- 
 chants and had possibly local circulation at some enhanced value, as 
 did the piece stamped by Francois Declos on Trinidad ( Vide, p. 110) . 
 
 Although the cut coins of modern times are essentially a West 
 Indian product, the practice has been employed sporadically in other 
 
The Coinage ob’ the West Indies 
 
 121 
 
 parts of the world. During the middle ages the small silver coins of 
 Europe were at times cut in quarters and halves, simply to make divi- 
 sional parts. The silver pennies of England cut into halves and fourths 
 or farthings, are good examples. Early Mohammadan coins are also 
 found cut into halves. Probably, however, the Arabs themselves did 
 not do this to any great extent, but other people did, for early Cufic 
 money has been found in various places of Europe, especially in Scan- 
 dinavian countries, where the proportion of coins cut in halves or less 
 seems to be fairly plentiful. 
 
 Modern cut coins doubtless influenced by the prevailing practice in 
 the Antilles have been noted in various countries, and although they 
 do not necessarily come within a discussion of West Indian coins, they 
 are so closely associated that a brief mention of some of the pieces is 
 justified, especially as many of them are at times confused with the 
 West Indian series. 
 
 Brazil. According to J. Meili,* in the province of Rio Grande do 
 Sul, about the time of the war with Paraguay., private persons stamped 
 Spanish pesetas with 400 in a ' rectangular indent, making the piece 
 pass for that number of reis or a balastraca, or cut the pieces into 
 halves and stamped each piece with an indented 200, or into quarters 
 and stamped the segments 100. These cut half and quarter balastra- 
 cas had crude crenated edges. He also records a larger piece cut into 
 quarters bearing a stamp in two lines 200 *sb s (Sao Borja ?) , and 
 Bolivian eight sueldos cut into fifths or less, with large w r avy crenelles 
 and bearing various marks. According to Enrique Pena,f gold and 
 silver was cut and counterstamped in various ways between 1866 and 
 1869. 
 
 Mexico. The coinage of this country is replete with counter - 
 stamped coins, especially with initials and monograms. Whether or 
 not much money was used in a cut state in Mexico is a question. 
 The only instances that have come to notice, are one real pieces cut in 
 half and stamped with sat in monogram, said to be for Santa Anna 
 de Tamaulipas, and Spanish eight real pieces sliced down like the St. 
 Lucia pieces to pass for four reals and stamped in five lines in a circle, 
 4 r | mon prov | di | hidalgo | • m • . These were said to have been 
 issued during the revolution of 1810 under Hidalgo. Although I have 
 seen none of the pieces that were sliced off, they were probably used 
 and stamped for two reals. 
 
 * Das Brasilianische Geldwessen, II Theil, 1905, pp. 355 ff. 
 
 t Monedas y Medallas Paraguayas, Asuncidn, 1900. 
 
Tiie American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 122 
 
 United States. In tlie United States during the latter part of the 
 Eighteenth Century and the first half of the Nineteenth, the Spanish - 
 American dollar and half were cut privately into halves, quarters and 
 eighths. Although these had no official sanction they passed readily 
 for hits. They were more in use in the South and West and grew out 
 of the necessity for small change. United States half dollars were at 
 times treated in this way. It is said that in some of the Indian agen- 
 cies in the West, this custom continued for some time. This cut silver 
 bore no mark or stamp nor were the edges crenated, so that from a 
 numismatic standpoint it has little value. We have seen before that 
 
 in some of the West Indian islands silver was treated in the same man- 
 ner without any distinguishing mark. One notable exception, how- 
 ever, deserves mention, namely the cut quarter segments of Spanish 
 dollars stamped on one side in script letters T. H within a circle of six- 
 teen links, in each of which is a small star, the reverse has a circular 
 punch, in the centre of which, within a circle, is a displayed American 
 eagle with shield on breast, around edge nouvelle Orleans (Fig. 129) . 
 These pieces were probably stamped by Puech Bein of New Orleans, 
 from the fact that there is a copper token issued by Puecli Bein & Co., 
 
 dated 1834 (Low, Hard Times Tokens, no. 82) . The quarter segment 
 was undoubtedly issued earlier, probably not many years after it be- 
 came part of the United States, as New Orleans is spelled in the French 
 manner. 
 
 The coin illustrated was cut from a dollar that had been counter - 
 stamped m v a | 1812, so that it is probable that the New Orleans piece 
 was issued about this time or a little later. Some of these segments also 
 bear an additional counterstamp Had in script letters (Fig. 130). Just 
 
Tiie Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 123 
 
 what this latter stamp signifies is a question, as the silver in the piece 
 is good, though lighter in weight than the first coin. Probably this 
 p b stamp was extensively counterfeited, and the issuers of the genuine 
 stamped Bad on all of those pieces they could get hold of. The dies 
 used on the latter are not the same as employed on the first piece. The 
 obverse side is nearly identical, but the chain has seventeen links and 
 the reverse die is very coarsely executed. This money shows a West 
 Indian influence, and the attempt at dentillation of the cut edge by 
 means of a file, producing a wavy effect, should be noted. 
 
 Great Britain. Owing to the failure of the Government in the 
 early part of the Nineteenth Century to issue silver coin, Spanish 
 money was used to a considerable extent in Great Britain. Much 
 of this was connterstamped, first in 1797 by the Government. These 
 were Spanish dollars counterstamped with a small head of George III 
 in oval, changed in 1804 to an octagon, and were issued by the Bank 
 of England at four shillings ninepence. Later, mill owners, merchants 
 and other private persons counterstampecfci dollars. This was done 
 largely in Scotland and the values impressed on the pieces ranged var- 
 iously from four shillings sixpence to five shillings sixpence. The 
 Rothsay mills in Buteshire seem to be about the only concern to cut 
 the dollars into subdivisions, these were cut into halves and thirds and 
 were valued at two shillings sixpence and one shilling eightpence 
 respectively. 
 
 Sierra Leone. A coin already referred to on p. 115 has so many 
 characteristics of the series under discussion that it surely must have 
 been influenced by the West Indian issues. The coin is a quarter seg- 
 ment, of a dollar counterstamped with a crowned w R (Fig. 131) and 
 has no cremations on the cut edges. Chalmers states (op. cit ., p. 209), 
 that cut Spanish money was in use in this African colony before 1825, 
 that it was nominally cut into quarters, but practically into five parts. 
 In 1831 the colony obtained from England, a stamp (shown on Fig. 
 131) for the purpose of stamping cut money to be legally current. In 
 the Caldecott sale (op. cit.) lot 309, is a Spanish four real piece with 
 
124 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 the same stamp blit with the tail of the r broken off. The old cut 
 money was called in, and in 1832 the stamped cut money was made 
 legal tender to the exclusion of the unstamped pieces ; however, this 
 latter was made legal in 1834, and in fact the commissariat cut great 
 quantities of dollars the next year. In 1839 the cut money was de- 
 monetized and about 125,000 pieces were taken in. Unstamped cut 
 money also circulated in the Gambia and the Gold Coast. 
 
 New South Wales. Great trouble had been experienced in this 
 colony in keeping what coins there were in circulation from being ex- 
 ported. In 1813 a large number of Spanish dollars was imported and 
 the Government immediately issued a proclamation to the effect that 
 dollars with a circular piece cut out of them would be put in circula- 
 tion. The ring known as a “ holey dollar” had a hole about 19mm., 
 the cut edge nicely milled and on one side the words, five • shillings 
 and a palm branch around the inner edge, and on the other side new 
 south wales • 1813 • The piece removed, known as a “dump,” bore 
 on the obverse a crown and above new south wales and below 1813, on 
 the reverse fifteen pence in two lines. Both sides show dentilated 
 milling. It was also forbidden to export these coins. After 1822 the 
 value of these was tixed at seventy -five cents or three-quarters of a 
 Spanish dollar for the “ holey dollar,” and twenty -five cents or one- 
 quarter of a Spanish dollar for the “ dump.” 
 
 In conclusion it may be said that the various cut and counter - 
 stamped coins are now becoming rare, many of the pieces extremely 
 so, and that very few are found on the islands on which they were 
 once used. This is chiefly due to the fact that when they were demon- 
 etized due notice was generally, given for redemption and the pieces 
 were eventually melted up. Varieties that once probably did exist are 
 now unknown, for we have acts and laws of some of the islands show- 
 ing that cut or stamped money was authorized. The gold which was 
 once abundant, is now very scarce, the melting pot having claimed its 
 own. Heretofore, collectors as a class have paid but little attention to 
 this curious coinage, and what little has been studied and observed on 
 this series has been done abroad. 
 
 I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. David Proskey of 
 Paterson, N. J., for the loan for photographing of the following coins: 
 nos. 3, 18, 37, 59, 77, 78, 96, 97, 99, 102, 104, 115a, 118, 126 and 127 ; to 
 Mr. Nelson P. Pehrson for no. 68, and to Mr. James W. Ellsworth for 
 nos. 122, 123 and 124. 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 125 
 
 LIST OF COUNTERSTAMPS 
 
 FOUND CHIEFLY ON WEST INDIAN COINS 
 The numbers in parentheses refer to coins illustrated 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 B Uncertain (122, 123) 
 
 Had Puech Rein, New Orleans (130) 
 
 C Curasao (105) 
 
 C and value Curasao (102) 
 
 C and anchor Ville du Cap, Haiti (111) 
 
 C C See St. Martin (37) 
 
 C W C Unassigned, private mark ?, page 120 
 H) Dominica (4, 5) 
 
 E B Ephraim Brasher, New York (123) 
 
 E H) Demerara and Essequibo (119) 
 
 E. &. D Demerara and Essequibo (120, 121) 
 
 E. H. Unassigned, private mark ?, page 120 
 F I) Frangois Declos at Trinidad (8.6) 
 
 F “7( in monogram Danish W est Indies (59a) 
 
 F ^ VII monogram Danish West Indies (59) 
 
 F. 7°. Cuba and Porto Rico (113) 
 
 G incuse Grenada (60, 61, 62, 84) 
 
 G crowned Guadeloupe (50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57) 
 
 G radiated Guadeloupe (52) 
 
 G in 15 rayed star Guadeloupe (47) 
 
 G H See St. Vincent (69) 
 
 G'LD Guadeloupe. La Desirade 
 G P crowned Azores, see page 102 
 G R Jamaica (107 ) 
 
 G % crowned Jamaica (108, 109, 110) 
 
 G T Grande Terre (Guadeloupe) 
 
 G T in monogram Grande Terre (Guadeloupe) 
 
 II in lozenge or square Virgin Islands (18, 19) 
 
 I in octagon Inagua (117, 118) 
 
 1 B Barbados ?, page 93 
 1 4" D He Desirade (Guadeloupe) 
 
 1 G Guadeloupe 
 
 I H Trinidad, page 1 10 and Fig. 63 
 I T Tobago ? 
 
 I T crowned Tobago ? 
 
 / IV See Grenada (62, 63) 
 
The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 120 
 
 L • C • Ville du Cap, Haiti 
 L M Martinique 
 L S Les Saintes (Guadeloupe) 
 
 L 8 in monogram See S L in monogram 
 M Montserrat (30) 
 
 M St. Martin (34) 
 
 M in circular indent Martinique (95, 96) 
 
 M in heart Martinique 
 M in square indent Montserrat (27, 28, 29) 
 
 M : G Marie Galente (Guadeloupe) 
 
 N Nevis '? 
 
 NEVIS Nevis (23, 24) 
 
 N SI) St. Domingue (Haiti) 
 
 Q (amulet) St. Lucia (70) 
 
 OO (amulets) St. Lucia 
 () crowned St. Bartholomew 
 P Philipsburg (39,40,41) 
 
 P ‘B Puech Bein, New Orleans (129, 130) 
 
 P M crowned Mozambique, see page 102 
 P . P Pointe a Pitre (Guadeloupe) 
 
 R F Guadeloupe (45, 46, 48, 49, 58 ) 
 
 S incuse The Saints (20, 21, 22) 
 
 S in relief St. Vincent (66, 67, 68, 69) 
 
 S A T in monogram Santa Anna de Tainaulipas (Mexico) 
 S B Stro Borja, Brazil, page 121 
 S : I) St. Domingue (Haiti) 
 
 S E St. Eustatius (40, 41, 42) 
 
 S E® St. Eustatius 
 S K St. Kitts (25) 
 
 S L St. Lucia 
 
 S L in crowned shield St. Lucia 
 S L in monogram St. Lucia (71) 
 
 S: Lucie St. Lucia (72, 73) 
 
 S M in oval Santa Margarita ? 
 
 S M in circle St. Martin ? 
 
 S T M St. Martin (35) 
 
 S* MARTIN St. Martin (36) 
 
 S P St. Pierre (Martinique) 
 
 S P in monogram St. Pierre (Martinque) 
 
 ST • PE St. Pierre (Martinque) 
 
 Stampee Irinidad 
 
 S V in monogram St. Vincent (64, 65) 
 
 T on Cayenne sous Virgin Islands (16, 17) 
 
The Coinage of the West Indies 
 
 127 
 
 T on silver Tobago (75, 7b, 77, 78) 
 
 T radiated Trinidad (88) 
 
 T I! Tobago 
 T 0 B Tobago (79) 
 
 T' B Tobago (80) 
 
 TO B A Gr O Tobago 
 
 TIATILA V irgin Islands (15, 22) 
 
 TORTOLA Virgin Islands (12, 13, 14) 
 
 T P Unidentified (124) 
 
 T P crowned Unidentified, see under Trinidad, page 109 
 T R Trinidad (84) 
 
 V Vieque (33) 
 
 V & I) Unassigned, private mark ?, page 120 
 \V C I) Unassigned, private mark ?, page 120 
 W P crowned For W R 
 
 W R crowned Sierre Leone (131) 
 
 V. II. Cuba and Porto Rico (114) 
 
 NUMERALS AND DEVIOUS 
 
 Q amulet St. Lucia (70) 
 
 Anchor and C Ville du Cap, Haiti (111) 
 
 Arrows St. Martin (36, 37) 
 
 Crown St. Bartholomew (43, 44) 
 
 Crowned heart Martinique (94) 
 
 Crowned numerals, (16, 12, 6, 4, 3) Dominica (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) 
 Crowned numerals, and M (18, 9, 7, 4, 3) Montserrat (31, 39) 
 Crowned O St. Bartholomew 
 Eagle under 20 or 22 Martinique (87, 88) 
 
 Fleur-de-lis St. Martin (34) 
 
 Fleur-de-lis double-headed Uncertain (125) 
 
 Head Rev. value Haiti (112) 
 
 Heart Martinique 
 
 Heart crowned Martinique (94) 
 
 Heart rayed Martinique 
 Ivey Cuba (115, 115a) 
 
 Lattice Trinidad (85) 
 
 Rosace of five petals Curagao (97, 98, 99) 
 
 Star or Sun of twelve rays Vieque (32) 
 
 2 on plug Unassigned (126) 
 
 2 • 6 Montserrat 
 
 8 in circle Curasao (100, 101) 
 
 5 in depression Curagao ? (105) 
 
 9 in oval Curagao ? (104) 
 
1-28 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 18 in square Curasao ? (103) 
 
 20 above eagle Martinique (87) 
 
 21 and rosace Curasao (99) 
 
 22 above eagle Martinique (88) 
 
 22 in rectangle St. Martin (38) 
 
 22 in square Demerara and Essequibo 
 2 I 5 Inagua (118) 
 
 82 io Guadeloupe (56) 
 
 100 Brazil, page 121 
 200 Brazil, page 121 
 400 Brazil, page 121 
 1838 Unassigned (128) 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF CENTRAL HOLES AND PIECES CUT FROM SAME 
 
 Heart shaped Martinique (89-93) 
 
 Hexagonal Tobago (81) 
 
 Octagonal Tobago (74, 75, 76) 
 
 Octagonal (Plug only) Guadeloupe (45) 
 
 Round (smooth) 23mm. Dominica (7, 8) 
 
 Round (smooth) 23mm. St. Vincent (66, 67) 
 
 Round (smooth) 19mm. New South Wales 
 Round (smooth) 17mm. Dominica (11) 
 
 Round (smooth) 15mm. St. Kitts ? (26) 
 
 Round (smooth) 3mm. Porto Rico (116) 
 
 Round (scalloped) 15, 16, 17 crenelles Dominica (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) 
 Round (scalloped) 14 and 15 crenelles Trinidad (82, 83) 
 
 Round (scalloped) 19 crenelles Demerara and Essequibo (120, 121) 
 
 Square (plain) Guadeloupe 
 
 Square (scalloped) Guadeloupe (50, 51, 52) 
 
 Square (scalloped) Grenada ? (61) 
 
THE SOU MARQUE 
 
 BY HOWLAND WOOD 
 
 One of the early coins that played an important part, in the mer- 
 cantile transactions on this hemisphere, was a small billon piece issued 
 by the French. It was known under various names but chiefly as the 
 sou marque. Its smallness and little purchasing power caused it to be 
 viewed with more or less contempt, whence we get the expression, 
 “ not worth a sou marque”. The pieces received various names in the 
 different localities in which they were used, for they were exported to 
 nearly all of the West Indian islands whether settled by French, En- 
 glish, Swedes or Dutch. 
 
 The first of these coins came into existence by a royal edict dated 
 October, 1738. They were originally intended for circulation in France, 
 but they soon found their way into the colonies. The issue was very 
 extensive and probably all of the French mints were engaged in their 
 manufacture. Pieces from the following mints have come to our 
 notice — Paris, Bordeaux, Lyons, Metz, Montpelier, Orleans, Rennes, 
 La Rochelle, Ronen, Strasbourg, Tours and Troyes. The striking 
 was discontinued in 1770, and without doubt, dates for each year can 
 be found. The following is the description of the piece struck in the 
 Paris mint: 
 
 Pig. 1. 
 
 Double Sol of 24 deniers. Obv. lud xv. d. g. fr. (m.m. fox) . et nav. hex 
 A crowned l between three fleurs-de-lis. 
 
 Rev. SIT NOM. DOM. (m.m. A) benedictum + 1738. Two interlaced l’s com- 
 posed of three branches, crown above. Billon. 22|mm., wt. 2.185 grammes. (Fig. 1.) 
 
 The small fox on the obverse was the mark of Renard du Tasta, 
 director of the Paris mint. Pieces from the other mints had their cor- 
 responding mint letters and marks. 
 
 This coin was popularly called a marque in distinction to the older 
 worn out billon coins. 
 
130 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 There was also issued a smaller one sol piece of twelve deniers that 
 was probably struck in several of the mints in France, as I have met 
 with them from those of Paris, Besanqon, Dijon, Lille, Lyons, Metz, 
 Nantes, Rouen, Strasbourg and Toulouse. This smaller piece possi- 
 bly circulated in some of the colonies, though no record of it in the 
 West Indies is found. Breton mentions it as being in circulation in 
 Canada, where both denominations bore the same values as in France. 
 By royal ordinance in 1744, they were reduced both in Canada and in 
 France to eighteen deniers and nine deniers respectively, making the 
 larger piece pass for the same value in Canada as the older billon piece 
 of thirty deniers or six blancs, dated 1710, called a mousquetaire, which 
 had been reduced to eighteen deniers in 1738. 
 
 In the French Antilles they passed at the higher value of two sols 
 six deniers, where they were known as noirs on account of their black 
 appearance. They soon found their way into the English islands in 
 the West Indies under the name of French son marks or black dogs, 
 where they were valued at one and a half pence or one-sixth of a bit. 
 
 At Cayenne they originally passed for their full value of two sous 
 but in 1779 were reduced a quarter or to eighteen deniers. In this col- 
 ony they were very extensively used, and to facilitate transactions they 
 were done up in rolls of sixty and circulated in that form for six livres 
 and were then called rouleaux. 
 
 They were introduced into St. Helena in 1750 to pass for two pence 
 and were called French pieces. They were also used in the Isles of 
 France and Bourbon, where they were valued at three sols or sous by 
 an edict of 1770. 
 
 The use of this marque in many of the West Indian islands, and 
 their convenience in small transactions, caused the colonists to petition 
 to the home government for more pieces of this nature. We have an 
 edict of 1763 causing 600,000 livres, or about that number of our pounds, 
 of these worn twenty -four denier pieces of the edict of 1738, of which 
 we have just spoken, to be stamped on one side with a crowned c for 
 use for the colonies in general (Fig. 2) . As these pieces had recently 
 been demonetized and vast quantities had been returned to the treasury, 
 
THE SOU MARQUE 
 
 131 
 
 the reissue of these in a new form was a happy solution. These were 
 originally known as pieces of billon of eighteen deniers. As this was 
 purely a colonial issue, it was forbidden for any one to have them in 
 France or to bring them back from the islands in America. Zay, in 
 his Histoire monetaire des Colonies franchises, gives, besides the c 
 crowned struck in relief, two other types which he calls “ essais.” One 
 has a small c crowned in depressed outline (Fig. 3) , the other a larger 
 
 device treated in the same manner (Fig. 4). Without doubt, these 
 were simply early types of this stamp, as specimens have been found 
 in the West Indies, which would hardly be the case if they were pat- 
 terns. Probably the large punch was replaced by the more common 
 stamp as shown in Fig. 2, which did not mutilate the coin so badly, as 
 is shown by the reverse of Fig. 4. The smaller stamp most likely was 
 discarded as not being large enough. 
 
 From the start these evidently proved popular, and the supply of 
 old plan chets soon became much depleted. Partly on this account and 
 for other reasons, it was decided in 1767 to substitute a copper issue for 
 the colonies in general, but the population in the Antilles, especially at 
 Guadeloupe, had become so accustomed to the small, light billon pieces 
 they refused to take the new coppers. Consequently in these places 
 the government had to revert to the old billon type. 
 
 The supply of worn marques totally ran out in a few years, for we 
 find when 30,000 livres worth of these were ordered to be sent to Cay- 
 enne in 1779, the mint officials at Paris were obliged to stamp these on 
 new billon flans (Fig. 5) . These c crowned pieces have been assigned 
 by most American cataloguers to Cayenne, probably under the suppo- 
 sition that the c was for that place. The edict clearly states that they 
 
132 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 were intended for a general American colonial issue, and the c is doubt- 
 less the initial for colonies. 
 
 On account of the simplicity of the device, counterfeits abounded, 
 but the flans were for the most part made of brass or some base metal 
 tinned. An interesting counterfeit of the earlier type is illustrated 
 (Fig. 6), imitating not only the counterstamp, but also the partially 
 defaced legend of the original marque. As an instance of the large 
 number of counterfeits in circulation the case of Martinique is of in- 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 terest. In 1797 during the English occupation of this island, a law 
 was passed prohibiting the circulation of false sou marques which had 
 been introduced in great numbers, but on account of the trouble to 
 distinguish the good from the bad, and on account of the small number 
 of good pieces on the island, six months later another decree was issued 
 admitting provisionally the false marques at ten deniers each or eigh - 
 teen to the escalin of fifteen sols. 
 
 These c crowned pieces were called by the French in the Antilles 
 etampes (Creole tampes) and for the most part passed at an enhanced 
 value of three sous nine deniers. By the English they were called 
 stampees* and as such they were generally countermarked with some 
 device for the different islands, and as a rule, four went to a bit. 
 
 At Cayenne they were called noirs and were originally valued at 
 two sous, but in 1779, when a large quantity was sent there, their value 
 was fixed at eighteen deniers or one and one -half sous. They were 
 superseded in 1781 by a new issue and were demonetized in 1828. 
 These likewise were put up in rouleaux of sixty at a value of four livres 
 ten sous. In the Reunion Islands the coins were known as carons. 
 
 We have noticed that the early marque circulated in the Isles of 
 France and Bourbon. These two islands are in the Indian Ocean off 
 the coast of Madagascar. lie de Bourbon was discovered in 1545 by 
 the Portuguese and was taken by the French in 1638 by whom it was 
 
 * The English colonists generally used the word stampee with reference to any of the billon 
 coins that bore subsequent counterstamps, including the Cayenne sous mentioned later on. All 
 these, but chiefly the uncounterstamped pieces were called dogs or black dogs, the name sou 
 marqu^ being less or locally used. 
 
THE SOU MARQUE 
 
 138 
 
 named Bourbon in honor of Louis XIV. During the French Revolu- 
 tion this island and the lie de France joined their governments to- 
 gether, and in 1793 they were known as the Reunion Islands, which 
 under the Empire was changed to Bonaparte. From 1811 to 1848 the 
 first island went back to its old name of Bourbon. Since then it has 
 been called Reunion. Between 1810 and 1815 it was under England. 
 He de France was called Acerno by the Portuguese, who discovered it 
 in 1505, and Maurice by the Dutch. The French occupied it from 1715 
 to 1810, and from that time it has been held by the English under the 
 name of Mauritius. 
 
 Pursuant with its policy of furnishing the various colonies with a 
 coin of small value, the French government struck a billon piece for 
 these islands in 1779. The piece had a value of three sols and was of 
 a new design that was subsequently used for other colonies. 
 
 Obv. louis xvi. li. de (m. ni. a crane) fe. ft nav. Three fleurs-de-lis under 
 a crown. 
 
 Rev. isles de fe et de bourbon (m. ni. a lyre), in centre 3 | sols. | 1779 | 
 a. 23mm., .2.185 grammes. (Fig. 7.) 
 
 Two million of these were ordered to be made at the Paris mint, 
 and they were struck on new planchets as well as on the old marques 
 of the edict of 1738. Some of this issue bear the date 1780. 
 
 The denomination of the piece is for three sous as the old billon 
 marque passed current here for that value. These new pieces likewise 
 were called a marque and were valued at one half of their inscribed 
 value in France or one sol six deniers, 66% went to ten colonial livres 
 or five French livres.'" 
 
 An edict of 1781 authorized 6,720,000 more of these coins for the 
 the two islands. Besides bearing the date 1781, the only other differ- 
 ence is a circle separating the legend from the central inscription, and 
 the word sols being changed to the newer spelling sous (Fig. 8) . All 
 of these coins were demonetized in 1828. There is also a pattern of a 
 similar coin with the value of two sous. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Decaen piastre of 1810 for these islands was for ten livres. 
 
134 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 The same edict called for similar three sou pieces for the colonies 
 in general and Cayenne. The obverses were the same as the above, the 
 reverses were as follows: 
 
 Ttev. colonies fran raises (ni. m. a lyre), in dotted circle 3 | sous | 1781 | A. 
 
 Same, but without circle. 
 
 Rev. colon IE DE CAYENNE (in. in. a lyre), iii linear circle 3 | sous | 1781 | A. 
 
 These pieces were not placed in circulation, the values being wrong, 
 as two sous was the generally accepted valuation in the other colonies. 
 
 As far as Cayenne goes this was changed, as an edict of November, 
 1781, created a two sou piece, although the edict of fabrication was not 
 until January, 1782. Nevertheless from the dates found on the coins, 
 the striking began two years earlier, as pieces are found dated 1780, 
 and 1781 as well as 1782. The issue was continued in 1783, 1780, 
 1787, 1788 and 1789. None were struck in 1784 and 1785. 
 
 Tig. !). Fig. 10. 
 
 Obv. Louis xvi. R. de (in. m. a crane) fr. et nay. three fleurs-de-lis under 
 a crown. 
 
 Rev. colonie de cayenne ( ni.in. a lyre), in circle 2 \ sous | 1782 | a. 23mm., 
 1.90 grammes. (Fig. 9.) 
 
 Tin •ee million of these were struck, some on new flans and others 
 on the older marques. These retired the earlier pieces of eighteen den- 
 iers, and were themselves withdrawn in 1844 when they were valued at 
 seven and one -half centimes. These pieces found ready circulation in 
 the West Indies where they were generally counterstamped by the dif- 
 ferent island governments. The commonest date for these stampees is 
 1789. Of this date we note two varieties, one with mint mark of the 
 regular small lyre, the other with a larger inclined lyre (Fig. 10) . These 
 coins were called noirs or sous marques noirs on account of their black 
 appearance. As we have said before they were the dogs or the black 
 dogs of the English settlers. 
 
 The next few years produced several pattern coins: 
 
 Obv. lud. xvi. D. o. fr. et. XAV. rex fleur-de-lis. Two script l’s interlaced, 
 in centre a fleur-de-lis. The mintmark r for Limoges, in exergue. 
 
THE SOU MARQUE 
 
 135 
 
 Rev. In a circle of small fleurs-de-lis 2 j sols. | 6 | deniers | fleur-de-lis | 1786. 
 These dies were cut by Droz. 
 
 Obv. Similar to above. 
 
 Rev. In a circle of small fleurs-de-lis trois | sols. | maltese cross | 1787. Dies 
 also cut by Droz. 
 
 The obverse of these two pieces was later copied in the 1816 and 
 1818 ten centimes of He Bourbon and La Gfuiane. 
 
 Obv. lud. xvi. n. G. fr. et. NAV. rex. Three fleurs-de-lis under a sun-burst. 
 In exergue R for Orleans. 
 
 Rev. sit. xom. dom. benediotum. Two ornate l’s interlaced, superimposed 
 on a sun-burst, above a crown. In exergue 1781. 
 
 An interesting pattern dated 1789 was designed for use in the 
 Antilles, but owing to the opposition of the colonies, especially at Saint 
 Domingue, on account of an arbitrary denomination being fixed for the 
 different islands, and the consequent doubt of the projectors of being 
 able to place the coin in circulation the piece advanced no further than 
 the experimental stage. Its description is: 
 
 Obv. Same as the Cayenne sous. 
 
 Rev. isles du vent et sous le vent. (in. m. a lyre). In held, 2 sous | 6 
 den. | 1789 | A. 22mm. 
 
 In 1816 another piece was designed for Cayenne but was not put 
 in circulation. 
 
 Obv. louis xvn i roi de FRANCE Three fleurs-de-lis under a crown. 
 
 Rev. colonie de cayenne In exergue 7V (for Tiolier) and cock. In field, 
 within linear circle 2 | sous | 1816 | A. 22mm. 
 
 In the same year a billon piece was placed in circulation in lie de 
 Bourbon that departed in a number of particulars from the previous 
 pieces, and formed a model for subsequent issues. 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 Obv. LOUIS xvi li — roi de fran Two script l’s facing and interlaced, 
 crowned, in centre fleur-de-lis. 
 
 Rev. In incuse letters on a broad granulated band isle de bourbon 1816 In 
 field 10 | cent. | cock and a | N Tiolier. 22mm., 2.5 grammes. (Fig. 11.) 
 
136 
 
 The American Journal of Numismatics 
 
 One hundred and fifty thousand were ordered to be struck and 
 were composed of two -tenths silver. They were reduced in value in 
 1850 to seven and one -half centimes and were demonetized in 1879. 
 
 A similar piece followed in 1818 for French Guiana or Cayenne. 
 
 Obv. Similar to lie de Bourbon piece. 
 
 Rev. In incuse letters on a broad granulated band guyanne franchise In 
 field, 10 | cent. | cock and A | N 'Holier. 22mm., 2.5 grammes. (Fig. 12.) 
 
 Two million were ordered to be struck and were composed of two- 
 tenths silver, this being a larger proportion of silver than in the earlier 
 pieces, they kept a whiter appearance and went under the name of a 
 marque blane in contrast to a noir by which the other pieces had been 
 designated. By order of the governor in 1819 they passed at thirteen 
 and one -third centimes or six at eighty centimes or a colonial livre. 
 They were issued in rolls containing sixty or thirty pieces, and were 
 still current in 1892. 
 
 In 184G a similar piece was issued for the same value but contain- 
 ed less than G per cent, silver, and were coined from the old black sous 
 marques that had been retired in 1814. 
 
 Obv. LOUIS phtllippe I ROI des FRAN (“A is In centre the monogram L p in 
 
 floriated script crowned. 
 
 Rev. In incuse letters guyane franqaise 1846 on broad granulated band. 
 In held 10 | cent.- | index hand and A | barre 22mm., 2.5 grammes. (Fig. 13.) 
 
 These also were known as marques blancs. This issue ended the 
 French colonial billon coinage and was the last survival of the old sou 
 marque that began as a French coin in 1738, which bade fair to rival in 
 its humble way the popularity of the Spanish -American dollar and its 
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