1 Bit

Grenada's "bit" denominations emerged from a practical crisis: the island chronically lacked small change, and Spanish colonial coins were cut into fractional pieces to fill the gap. This piece is one of those cut and countermarked fragments — a segment of a larger Spanish silver coin, officially sanctioned by the colonial administration to circulate at a fixed value. The 1818 countermark brought these pieces into regulated currency rather than tolerating the informal cutting trade that had preceded it.