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6 Bits / 4 Shillings 6 Pence Countermark
| Issuer | Grenada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1814 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Countermarked, Cut |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The reverse retains the surviving design of the Spanish or Spanish Colonial 8 Reales host coin, partially preserved across the half-circle flan. Remnants of the milled border are visible along the straight cut edge and the curved periphery. The central design elements of the host coin's reverse — typically a crowned globes-and-columns motif for milled coinage or a cross and shield arrangement for cob coinage — are partially discernible, though heavily obscured by the cutting and the deformation caused by the countermark punches applied to the obverse. The date of the host coin is effectively obliterated, having fallen adjacent to one of the countermark punch sites and been flattened upon striking. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
In 1814, British colonial authorities in Grenada authorized the countermarking of Spanish colonial eight-reales pieces to address a chronic shortage of official currency throughout the Windward Islands. The crowned "G" punch was applied locally, converting circulating Spanish silver into denominations that could function within the British accounting system — 4 shillings 6 pence, or six bits in the local reckoning that persisted from the pre-British monetary culture.
The host coins vary considerably in origin and date, drawn from whatever Mexican, Peruvian, or Bolivian milled coinage happened to be in local circulation. KM#9 is catalogued as a type rather than a discrete issue.