Stuiver 'Cayenne-Stuiver' Countermark C16

Sint Maarten's chronic shortage of small change in the late eighteenth century prompted colonial authorities to countermark French Guiana stuivers — the so-called Cayenne-stuivers — already in circulation throughout the Lesser Antilles. The "C" punch applied in 1798 restricted these coins to local use on the island, a practical measure against the constant drain of specie toward neighboring colonies with stronger trade networks. The same undersupply problem afflicted nearly every small Dutch Caribbean possession simultaneously, which is why countermarked coinage from this period survives in such fragmentary condition — these pieces worked hard.