THE COLLECTION OF CUT AND COUNTERMARKED COINS FORMED BY THE LATE EDWARD ROEHRS (Part I)
100
——— One Stuiver, a counterfeit Cayenne 2 Sous, rev. countermarked STM raised within a beaded circle, later countermarked with incuse M (authorised July 1820) to revalidate circulation, 1.67g/25.7 gr (Scholten 1424; Prid. p.258, fig. 38 [Sale, lot 431]; VG 8; KM. 3 [value given as 2 Stuivers]). Coin fine, countermarks very fine, rare
£60-80 Provenance: J.J. Ford Jr Collection, Glendining Auction, 16 October 1989, lot 200
101
——— One Stuiver, a counterfeit Cayenne 2 Sous, rev. countermarked STM raised within a beaded circle, obv. later countermarked by authorities on the French side of the island with a large incuse fleur-de-lis, rev. later countermarked with incuse M to revalidate circulation, 1.98g/30.5 gr (cf. Scholten 1423-4; cf. Prid. pp.257-8, figs. 32, 38 [cf. Sale, lots 429, 431]; KM. –). Coin fair, countermarks fine or better, very rare
£70-90 Provenance: H.D. Gibbs Collection, Hans Schulman Auction (New York), 18-19 March 1966, lot 1670 St. Bartholomew (St. Barts)
The countermarked silver coins from St. Barts have been somewhat of a challenge to understand and classify. The series countermarked ‘crown/value/M’ was attributed to Montserrat by Fred Pridmore, following the lead of others, and prior to that these coins had been assigned to Martinique. Frank Olrog discovered the documentation to correctly attribute this series to St. Barts, authorised by a local Act of December 1808. Nicholas Morin was appointed to produce the stamps and countermark coins that had been so worn as to make identification of the value difficult to determine.
After Morin’s death in 1819 countermarking activity continued with a series of other people. These later countermarked coins were at one time attributed to Curaçao and other locations. However, research in contemporary documentation by Frank Olrog clearly points to these coins being countermarked for use on St. Barts. It has not been possible, at this stage, to positively link a particular countermark with an individual; however, there are clues to be found in the coins themselves, together with the assigned value countermarks.
After consultation with Bob Lyall the cataloguer has adopted the following position: Charlotte (countermarking activity from January 1821 to 1823, when he died): countermarks are the value raised within an oval or elliptical indent; no initials. Cohen (first recorded countermarking activity 1825; he died in 1827): countermarks are the value stamps, as above, but with the addition of a C raised within a shaped indent. In some instances Charlotte’s value stamps were used by Cohen. Craves (had taken over countermarking by 1834, but his father may have been active prior to this date and they may have used the same stamps): countermarks are a C plus a value, both raised within an oval or elliptical indent.
The lot descriptions below only have the countermark described and are not linked to any particular silversmith, with the exception of Nicholas Morin (lots 102-3, 105-6, 128-131 and 133). Dates reflect the information given above.
In addition to the above-named official stampers, a number of unauthorised people prepared stamps and countermarked coins. However, these other countermark styles must be considered, until further research reveals some foundation, to be unofficial, although these coins certainly circulated and were accepted in daily transactions.
102
Authority of 30 December 1808, Fourteen Stuivers, GREAT BRITAIN, George III, Shilling, 1816, obv. countermarked with crowned 14/M (Nicholas Morin), raised within an elliptical indent, 5.26g/81.1 gr (cf. Olrog p.25, 2, 3; KM. 11 variant). Coin fine, countermark fair, extremely rare as a denomination
£900-1,200 Provenance: Bt J. Lepczyk.
Nicholas Morin was responsible for stamping worn coins where it would be difficult to establish the correct value. In this case the coin was undoubtedly stamped as the host coin would have been unfamiliar to the population
These lots are illustrated on our web site
www.dnw.co.uk
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