British Occupation gold Counterstamped 6 Pesos ND (c. 1815) AU53 PCGS, KM20 (Unique; this coin), Fr-2 (same), Fonrobert-8808 (same), Prid-pg. 250 (c. 1799; same), Scholten-1367a (same), Gordon-14c (same). 12.34gm. Displaying five different stamps and one cross-shaped test punch on the obverse, together with one stamp and a test punch on the reverse, of a genuine clipped Maria I & Pedro III gold 6400 Reis 1781 from Brazil (cf. KM199.2 or KM199.1). One of the rarest and most significant West Indies countermarked issues, and reportedly one of just two traced examples of this type bearing 6 countermarks rather than 5 by both Pridmore and Gordon. According to Pridmore, who mistakenly placed the issue under c. 1799 and the order of Governor J. K. Lauffer, these Brazilian gold pieces were counterstamped in order to distinguish them from clipped, debased, and light-weight plugged 6400 Reis, a program which likely took place c. 1814 following a general increase in the value of the dollar of the British Windward Islands and an order to supply for a shortage of small change under Governor John Hodgson. According to Scholten, each stamped coin was to be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, an arduous process which may be one of the reasons that so few entered into circulation and survived down to the present day. Counterstamped with a definitive clarity and a bold luster over the surfaces, it is sure to greatly enhance any cabinet of West Indies coinage. For the sake of completeness, we note that in platings in all of the above listed catalogs, except for Friedberg, this coin displayed a small square test punch behind the busts, which since may have been repaired. If this is the case, however, virtually no evidence aside from these past photographs exists on the coin itself, even under high magnification. Ex. Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Stack's April 2005, Lot 3001); John H. Clapp Estate to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (1942); Ralph F. Peltzer Collection (Glendining June 1927, Lot 655); Fonrobert Collection (Adolph Weyl 1878, Lot 8808)

HID09801242017

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