Two Shillings From Guadeloupe – Or Are They? – Gary Oddie

The coinage of the Caribbean in the early 19^th century was a mixture of pieces from many countries. The coins were often countermarked to allow them to pass. Most are very rare and this has resulted in later concoctions and false marks.

This blog presents two such spurious marks and identifies the issuers. The first, on a 1787 shilling, was manufactured by Emile Zay (1830-1909), a coin dealer from Paris. The second, on a Leeds Workhouse shilling token of 1811, was manufactured by S.G. Myers Adams, a die sinker and dental mechanic, based in Leeds.