Sierra Leone (1832) 1/4 dollar
This specimen was lot 31826 in Heritage sale 3107 (Chicago, May 2023), where it sold for $6,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Sierra Leone: British Colony. William IV Countermarked 1/4 Dollar (13 Pence) ND (1832-1834) VF25 NGC. Host: quarter cut piece of Mexico Ferdinand VII 8 Reales (18)19-Mo (cf. KM111); Counterstamp: "Crown WR". A very rare and fascinating coinage, David Vice says in his book The Coinage of British West Africa & St. Helena 1684-1958 that "In Sierra Leone, for a short period between 1832 and 1834, the [Spanish] dollars as well as being cut into quarters, edges plain cut, were also stamped with the crowned initials WR (for William Rex [King William]). This counterstamp, which was unique to Sierra Leone, was used as a guarantee of weight on the cut quarters" (p. 160).
This piece, besides having beautiful patina and no damage, is especially tempting due to the Mexico City mint mark clearly visible on one side and the last two digits of the date "19" (for 1819) on the other side. Knowing the exact coin type and date for a quarter piece of a host coin is rare in itself and adds extra intrigue for an already captivating issue. Ex. Gibbs Collection."
The SCWC lists cut quarters of eight reales and uncut four reales for this counterstamp, both very rare. Cut and counterstamped coins, usually on Latin American hosts, exist in a wide variety from the Caribbean but are not so common from Africa.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: host coin 27.07 g, 0.896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 10, Vice-FT2.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2023 May 3 - 5 CSNS World Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction #3107, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2023.
Link to:
- Sierra Leone (1832) 1/2 dollar c/s on a Spanish 4 reales
- Coins and currency dated 1832