Description
SOLD
Emergency Issue Dollar George III
Oval countermarked dollar, struck on a 1782 Lima, Peru 8 Reales of Charles IV of Spain.
Obverse, small oval portrait of George III struck over portrait of Spanish monarch.
Reverse; Crowned shield of arms with LIMAE monogram in legend.
England had a shortage of silver coins during the war with Napoleonic France. In fact George III had no crown pieces issued since occupying the throne in 1760. As an emergency measure Spanish ‘Dollars’ were put into circulation for a short period after being countermarked in order for them to become currency.
In 1816 the regular coining of Crown pieces was resumed, when the Royal Mint was moved from its old base in the Tower of London to a new site on Tower Hill, London. The Assayer MI is recorded for 1780-87.
