Trinidad and Tobago (1811) 9 shillings
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago, originally invaded and occupied by the Spanish, were wrested from Spanish control by the British in 1797. The two islands were merged as a single entity in 1888. It remained a colony of Great Britain until achieving independence in 1976. Up until independence, no coins were struck locally. The coin type shown was authorized by the government in 1811, as being a 13 mm octagonal hole punched from the obverse, with no other markings. The final weight to be achieved by this action was 23.97 g, which was the equivalent of 9 shillings[1].
The first example was lot 24973 in Heritage sale 3014 (Chicago, April 2011), whre it sold for $2990. the catalog description noted,
"British Administration. 9 Shillings (1811), VF20 NGC Roehrs Collection, octagonal center cut of a Mexico 8 Reales 1805-TH. Ex: Pridmore Sale lot 378, ex: Whetmore Collection at Glendining, July 14, 1961, lot 287, and October 28-9, 1964, lot 1251."
The second example was lot 25678 in Heritage sale 3019 (Chicago, April 2012), whre it sold for $2760. the catalog description[2] noted,
"British Colony. 9 Shillings (9 Bits), Mexico 8 Reales 1793 Mo with Octagonal Center Hole (authority of 1811), good VF. Even gray patina with no significant flaws. Ex: John Jay Pittman Collection, sold by David Akers August 6-8, 1999, lot 3676, with ticket."
The third specimen was lot 2451 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $7,200. The catalog description[3] noted,
"TRINIDAD. Trinidad - Mexico. 9 Bitts (9 Shillings), ND (1811). NGC VERY FINE. Issued by local authority of 11 June 1811. Octagonal shaped cut from the obverse on 1794-Mo FM Mexico Bust 8 Reales of Charles IIII (IV). This charming survivor exhibits moderate wear with plenty of remaining details on this usually well-worn issue displaying rich old cabinet patina with an iridescent sheen that pops out when tilted in the light. Additional "T" punches have been applied to the obverse and reverse, struck multiple times. There are no known official documents that pertain to these additional markings on dollars. These punches seem to be in imitation of the "T" punch found on the central plugs, but do not match in style of application.
When the authorization was given on June 11th the quantity of dollars to be cut was not to exceed 25,000. The central cutout segments were given a declared value of 1 Bitt (1 Shilling) and were stamped with the initial "T" for the name of the colony. These central cutout Bitts were ordered to be withdrawn from circulation December 1st, 1823. By order of proclamation issued by Sir Ralph Woodford September 14, 1814 the cut dollars were to continue to circulate by tale at 9 Shillings until ordered to pass by weight. The cut dollars and the previous cut minors of the proclamation of February 9th, 1804 were never officially withdrawn. Some of the cut dollar[s] continued to circulate as late as 1860 at a rate of 3 Shillings 9 Pence (90 Cents). Ex: Ray Byrne Collection (Jess Peters 6/1975) Lot # 1178."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.903 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Pr-3, KM A14.1. The third specimen is KM-A13 (plate coin); cf. Prid-3.
- 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]Tucker, Warren, and Cristiano Bierrenbach, World and Ancient Coins sale 3019, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2012.
- [3]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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