World Tokens

St Eustatius, 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

Weight is 4.91g