Catalog
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| Issuer | Tortola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1801 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | DOM BENEDICTUM SIT NOMEN |
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| Additional information |
The "Black Dog" coins of the Eastern Caribbean were French 2 sols pieces — already debased billon — countermarked by colonial authorities to authorize local circulation at a fixed valuation. Tortola's application of the "H" countermark in 1801 was a pragmatic response to chronic small-change shortages that plagued British Caribbean possessions throughout the Napoleonic period, when normal trade flows were disrupted and official coinage from London arrived irregularly at best.
The host coins themselves were French Metropolitan issues, not colonial sols marqués, which distinguishes this type from several neighboring island countermarks that used different base material.