TOKENS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE EDWARD ROEHRS St Eustatius


1254


A bracelet of 42 blue beads, 32cm in length, colloquially known as ‘Statia Blues’ (Roehrs, NI Bulletin, March 2001, p.71, this illustrated; cf. van der Sleen, Handbook on Beads, p.108). In good order


£60-80


Provenance: Bought from a fisherman on the beach at St Eustatius, 1985.


1250


LOWER TOWN, Herman Gossling, brass One Bitt [after 1781], value, rev. grazing goose, 23mm, 2.09g/12h (Lyall 452; Prid. p.263, fig. 45; Scholten 1432). Verdigris spot on reverse, otherwise better than very fine £120-150


Provenance: Bt J. Ortiz 1976.


The date 1771 on the Gossling tokens most likely refers to the establishment of the business, as the nature of the tokens suggests a British denominational issue after the capture of St Eustatius by Rodney in 1781 (see Lyall p.146 for an expanded explanation)


1255


The legend has it that these bracelets were thrown in the sea by slaves when freed, ‘large blues are still washed up on the shore where before 1750 the large warehouse of the Dutch West India Co had stood’ (van der Sleen). Another myth is that the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Indians for 30 Statia blue beads. Recent research by van der Sleen in the 1960s has traced all the Statia beads to a single glass factory in Amsterdam, employing glassmakers from Murano and Venice. Via the Dutch East India Co and the slave trade between Africa and the West Indies, the beads found their way to St Eustatius. A photocopy of the Roehrs article is sold with the lot


A similar bracelet of 12 blue beads, 16cm in length, colloquially known as ‘Statia Blues’ (Roehrs, NI Bulletin, March 2001, p.71, this illustrated; cf. van der Sleen, Handbook on Beads, p.108). In good order


£20-30 St Kitts 1256 1251


LOWER TOWN, Herman Gossling, brass Half-Bitt [after 1781], similar, 20mm, 1.48g/12h (Lyall 453; Prid. p.264, fig. 46; Scholten 1432). Good very fine £120-150


Provenance: Bt J. Ortiz 1976


Licensing Authority, uniface aluminium Dog License, 1986, stamped C.N. [St Christopher and Nevis], DOG LICENSE 3837 below date, 32mm, 2.71g (Lyall 451); Freestay Caribbean, aluminium token, c. 2006, clock, rev. COIN REDEEMABLE FOR FREE STAY, etc, 39mm, 3.96g/12h; ST LUCIA, Freestay Caribbean, aluminium token, c. 2006, pitons, rev. COIN REDEEMABLE FOR FREE STAY, etc, 39mm, 4.06g/12h; ST MAARTEN, St-Maarten Cruise, aluminium token, c. 2006, Courthouse, rev. REDEEMABLE FOR EXCLUSIVE OFFER, etc, 39mm, 3.97g/12h; uncertain location, uniface octagonal copper, stamped 50 above WH, 33 x 28mm, 3.44g (Byrne 1176, this piece) [5]. Last fine, others extremely fine


£10-20 1252


Uncertain location, R.D. Jenkins Co, Sheffield plated copper Two Bitts (?), c. 1775-85, canoe on pebbled beach, rev. RDI CO, 27mm, 4.89g/12h (Scholten Curaçao 1411; Byrne 226). Minor wear through the plating on some of the high points, otherwise very fine and extremely rare £300-400


Provenance: Bt D. Robins September 1977.


The RDI CO tokens have proved difficult to attribute in the past. Initially ascribed to the Robert Dickson Indian Co in Ontario, Canada, later a Curacao attribution was postulated and followed by Scholten. Edward Roehrs, in SNC November 1983, provided a compelling case for the attribution of these tokens to St Eustatius; his article was later reprinted in NI Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 12 (December 2000). In further support of this attribution S.J. Kruythoff, a local historian in St Eustatius, makes a non- numismatic reference to these tokens, including an accurate description, in a book published prior to 1939. The tokens would seem to date from the latter part of the 18th century, when small denomination coins were scarce in most of the West Indian islands. In 2004 Mr Roehrs visited the nearby island of St Bartholomew and met a resident and coin collector who ‘found’ one of the smaller tokens buried in his garden. This find provides very strong support for a Caribbean attribution especially considering the proximity of St Barts to St Eustatius


1257


Provenance: First gift of K.V. Eckardt 1986; last R.A. Byrne Collection, Jess Peters Auction 78 (Los Angeles), 13-14 June 1975, lot 1176.


The last item has been variously attributed to Tortola, Barbados and St Kitts in the past


St Lucia Banana Tallies


CASTRIES, Antilles Products Ltd, uniface red fibre, c. 1953, stamped AP, 29mm, 1.38g (Lyall 454; Devaux type 1; Ford 688; Tankersley 382). Very fine, rare


£30-40 Provenance: Gift of Major Thompson (a director of Geest) 1965.


Antilles Products Ltd, established as banana exporters in Dominica in October 1948. Despite the company’s uncomfortable relationship with the Colonial Development Corporation, Antilles began shipping bananas from St Lucia in 1951, although it continued to have difficulty chartering regular ships for the purpose. John van Geest, the Dutch entrepreneur, acquired a shareholding in the company in December 1952 and, after the majority Irish owners decided to sell the company to Lord Vestey, head of the Blue Star Line, intervened as a white knight and took it over in June 1954, changing the name to Geest Industries Ltd


1258


CASTRIES, Geest Industries (W.I.) Ltd, uniface red fibre (2), c. 1957, stamped G.I (B.W.I) LTD, 30mm, 1.34g (Lyall 469; Devaux type 2; Ford 688; Tankersley 382); c. 1958, stamped G.I (W.I) LTD, 30mm, 1.06g (Lyall 470; Devaux type 3; Ford 688; Tankersley 382) [2]. Pierced as issued, very fine


£30-40 Provenance: Gift of Major Thompson (a director of Geest) 1965 1253


Uncertain location, R.D. Jenkins Co, Sheffield plated copper One Bitt (?), c. 1775-85, similar, 27mm, 4.89g/12h (Scholten Curaçao 1411; Byrne 225). Some wear in the plating on high points of obverse and a scratch above the canoe, otherwise good fine, extremely rare £200-300


Provenance: Bt D. Robins September 1977 Additional lot images may be found on our website 1259


CASTRIES, Geest Industries (W.I.) Ltd, uniface green fibre, stamped GEEST, 29mm, 1.35g (Lyall 472; Devaux type 4a; Ford 688). Pierced as issued, very fine, rare £40-60


Provenance: Bt C. Plante September 1989 www.dnw.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41