Danish coins counterstamped at Saint Martin

by Jørgen Sømod (numis@vip.cybercity.dk)

In Denmark happened following royal orders of the 15th July 1726 and the 9th July 1727, that king Frederik IV's Danish two skillings 1711-19 and Norwegian two skillings 1714-25 in value got reduced in such a way, that 6 pieces in the future should only be worth 10 skillings. The coins then circulated in Denmark-Norway until end of the year 1776.

Then the withdrawn stock of the more than 50 years old coins was brought to Danish West Indies and there sent into circulation, in such a way that a coin with a face value 2 skilling dansk should be worth 2 skilling West Indian courrent and have a value of 1 2/3 skilling Danish courrent. It is 2 skillings strucked in Copenhagen with the years 1711, 1712, 1713, 1714, 1715, 1716, 1718 og 1719, of which the year 1718 is extremely rare. Further 2 skillings strucked in Glückstadt, a little town at river Elbe, with the years 1714, 1715 and 1716. Finally 2 skillings strucked at Kongsberg in Norway with all the years from 1714 to 1725, where it for the year 1714 is needed, there should be a little twig under the lion.

As it could be expected, some of the coins in connection to common trade also went to other islands in the West Indies. Mentioned should be Sint Maarten, nearly two hundred kilometers east for the Danish islands. Sint Maarten was administrative parted in two; the northern part belonged to France and the Dutchmen owned the southern part of the island. At Sint Maarten, the Dutch authorities at the southern part of the island gave 1797 a goldsmith Joseph Da Assendam order to sort out fake and forged French coppersous from genuine, which was a common circulating coin, and to stamp the genuine ones a mark showing a bundle of seven arrows symbolizing the seven countries, which now is called kaldes Holland. As early as 1798 the mark was changed to the letters S^TM within a beaded circle. 13. February 1798 the goldsmith recieved for his work 200 dollars and three men, who had assisted him, got each 130 dollars. Similar sorting og stamping were done 1805.

Beside the ordered stamping of French coppersous - in the West Indies called black dogs, is with the same die found a few silvercoins and among these Danish-Norwegian two skillings of just these years, which after 1776 were sent to Danish West Indies. They are now very rare and efter an examination of the more common literature and a survey of important public and private coincollections is found following pieces with counterstamped.

1. Ole Devegge, dead 1847, catalog no. 4157, testamentary present to Den kongelige Mønt- og Medaillesamling in Copenhagen a Norwegian 2 skilling with unreadable year.
2. O.Th.Thomsen, dead 1879, auction in Copenhagen1880 no. 9873 sold to Vilhelm Bergsøe and at his auction in Amsterdam 1903 pictured and sold as no. 1050 a Copenhagen 2 skilling with unreadable year.
3. F.Pridmore pictures 1965 in The Coins of The British Commonwealth of Nations, Part 3, West Indies a Copenhagen 2 skilling 1716. Same coin is pictured at C.Scholten, De Munten van de Nederlanddsche gebiedsdeelen Overzee, Amsterdam 1951 as no. 1420. Under no. 1421 is mentioned a similar coin, but with only SM. Such a die is not known and should be an error from an older catalog, because letter T is so tiny, that it missed.
4. Ray Byrne, auction in Los Angeles 1975 pictures and sells as no. 1063 a 2 skilling from Glückstadt with unreadable year.
5. Holger Hede, auction III, Copenhagen 1994, with mentioned provenance P.Hauberg (dead 1929) as no. 462 pictures and sells a Copenhagen 2 skilling 1715.
6. F.C. Krohn, medallist and coin collectors from Copenhagen, who died in 1883, made a illustration: Danemark, Frederik IIII, 2 skilling 1713 ans counterstamped

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