![British Empire, Gibraltar, Half Bitt, 1770-1772. XF40 [WC-569] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WC-569-4pp.jpg)
![British Empire, Gibraltar, Half Bitt, 1770-1772. XF40 [WC-569] - Image 3](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/WC-569-5pp.jpg)
Description
British Empire, Garrison-City of Gibraltar, time of King George III of the House of Hanover, King of Great Britain 1760-1820 AD, Silver Half Bitt (1.30g, 16.5mm), emergency coinage circa 1770-1772 AD, Type IV bifacial ‘heart-shaped’ punch with ornamental stamped edge cut from a Spanish Empire Silver Half Real of King Ferdinand VI dated 1756, Lima mint, Viceroyalty of Peru (KM-51). Obverse of host: Royal Escutcheon of the Armorial of the Kingdom of Spain (1700-1868) surmounted by the royal crown, five-petalled flower to field either side, legend surrounds, “·FRD· VI· D·G· HISP· ET IND· R·”. Reverse of host: Side-by-side hemispheres surmounted by royal crown and flanked by the Pillars of Hercules, each pillar surmounted by the Spanish Royal Crown and decorated with ribbon inscribed “PLUS VLTR”, ocean floor below, date between two mintmarks below, legend surrounds above, “VTRAQUE VNVM”. KM-16 (Martinique); Prid-20 (Dominica). Certified and graded by NGC as XF40. Incorrectly labelled as ‘Dominica’ on slab, these heart shaped cut pieces have been re-attributed to the British possession of Gibraltar by the work of Bob Lyall.
A very appealing British colonial type made all the more desirable by the Lima mint host coin, the series itself, the heart-shaped cut pieces, is highly sought after in all denominations, the smallest such as this being just as collectable. Our offered example has abundant eye appeal with nicely toned surfaces of cabinet grey framed with some lighter polychromatic shades around the peripheral devices, and the heart is cut fairly central although with a somewhat blundered ornamental stamped edge. This piece rivals the XF40 example sold through Stacks Bower’s Galleries NYINC sale 2023 which was previously part of the R.J. Ford collection for USD 3000.
