St. Lucia (1813) 2 livres 5 sous
St. Lucia was first seen by Europeans during a voyage of Columbus. It was first colonized in 1605 by the British, but difficulties with the indigenous population kept European incursion at a minimum. Later the French arrived, and the island was fought over many times between the two. As a result, it is unclear to researchers whether the colonial coinage was issued by the British or French. Obviously the denominations are of French derivation. Full British control was exerted in 1814, which was after the authorization date of the coinage shown here. For these pieces, Spanish colonial 8 reales were cut so that the pillars ran parallel, and the counterstamp 'St. Lucie' was applied[1]. This example of a 2 livres 5 sous was lot 1282 at the N.Y.I.N.C Auction by Stack's Bowers Auctions and sold on Jan 7, 2011 for $649. The catalog description[2] reads:
"SAINT LUCIA. 2 Livres 5 Sols, ND (1813). Loal Ordinance of 20 January 1813. "S:Lucie" countermark on a cut segment of a Mexican 8 Reales. Toned. VERY FINE."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.903 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-9; Prid-10.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Byrne, Ray, Coins and Tokens of the Caribees, Decatur, IL: Jess Peters, Inc., 1975.
- [2]Ponterio, Richard, and Kent Ponterio, Ponterio sale 158: The 2011 N.Y.I.N.C. Auction, Irvine: Bowers and Merena, 2010.
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