A gold coin of Brazil that circulated under three different authorities in the West Indies was the highlight of part two of the Edward Roehrs Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins of the West Indies, which was auctioned in London Nov. 17 by Dix Noonan Webb.

The 1788 gold 6,400-real coin of Maria I was subsequently issued as a 66-shilling coin in Curacao under the authority of J.K. Lauffer circa 1799 to 1803 before next circulating in St. Vincent and Grenada. The countermarks provide evidence of where the coin circulated.

The piece, which is “almost certainly the only treble-island Curacao countermarked gold coin,” according to the auction catalog, realized £40,800 ($64,464 U.S.), including the 20 percent buyer’s fee, against an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000 (about $11,170 to $12,767 in U.S. funds).

The coin in the auction grades Fine, with the countermarks graded Very Fine.

The auction realized £390,006 ($616,209 U.S.) including the buyer’s fee, and all of the 263 lots were sold.

Cut and countermarked coins “came about over a relatively short period of time to solve very local problems,” according to the catalog. “Once the need no longer existed for these plugged and cut up bits and pieces, subject to confusion and private larceny, they were generally eliminated as soon as possible via the melting pot.”

Roehrs died Dec. 7, 2008, and on Aug. 13, 2010, Heritage Auction Galleries offered the American U.S.-regulated gold pieces once owned by Roehrs. Dix Noonan Webb on Sept. 28, 2010, offered the first part of the Roehrs Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins, and a collection of his medals related to the West Indies and the slave trade sold July 13, 2011.

Dix Noonan Webb will offer the final portion of Roehrs’ collection, featuring West Indies and other tokens, in the spring.

All totals reflect the 20 percent buyer’s fee.

The complete sale catalog and prices realized can be viewed online at the firm’s website, www.dnw.co.uk.

For additional information, telephone Dix Noonan Webb at (011) 44 20 7016 1700 or email it at auctions@dnw.co.uk.

Some additional highlights:

Anguila, Anguila Charter Co., circa July 1967 $100 LIBERTY DOLLAR counterstamp on 1947 gold 50-peso coin of Mexico, one of “only two struck,” produced by Scott Newhall (then editor of the San Francisco Chronicle) as part of a fundraising effort post-separation from the associated states of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, “coin and countermark Extremely Fine,” £6,600 ($10,428 U.S.).

Curaçao, Dutch administration, Authority of 1818, silver 5-reaal coin (valued at 30 stuivers), struck on one-third of a Mexican 1812 to 1821 silver 8-real coin of Ferdinand VII, “five specimens known,” coin VF, countermark about VF, £10,800 ($17,064 U.S.).

Grenada-St Vincent, Authority of 1798, gold 66-shilling coin, struck on counterfeit 1767 Portuguese 6,400-real coin from Rio Mint, Joseph I, coin about Fine, countermarks Fine to VF, £15,600 ($24,648 U.S.).

Grenada-St Vincent, Authority of 1798, gold 66-shilling coin, struck on a counterfeit Portuguese 6,400-real coin (date off planchet), Joseph I, coin about Fine “but very heavily clipped, countermarks Fine to Very Fine,” £9,000 ($14,220 U.S.).

Jamaica, Authority of November 1758, gold doubloon (valued at £5), on a 1751-LM gold 8-escudo coin of the Viceroyalty of Peru under Ferdinand VI, “only about 10 specimens recorded,” “both sides centrally countermarked with floriate GR raised within a circular indent,” 26.92 grams, Friedberg 1 (Gold Coins of the World by Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg), coin VF, countermarks Fine, £21,600 ($34,128 U.S.).

Jamaica, Authority of 1758, gold pistole (valued at £1, 15 shillings), struck on gold 2-escudo coin of Ferdinand VI during the viceroyalty of New Granada, Popayan, “only three other specimens recorded,” coin Good Fine, countermarks VF, £22,800 ($36,024 U.S.).

Leeward Islands (excluding the Virgin Islands), circa 1798 gold 66-shilling coin of 7 pennyweight standard, struck on a counterfeit 1771 gold 6,400-real coin of Brazil under Joseph I, Rio Mint, countermark I-H raised within a rectangular indent on a large central plug, 10.92 grams, “test mark on rim at 3 o’clock and some light scratches on face, otherwise Very Fine, countermark better,” £7,200 ($11,376 U.S.).

Martinique, authority of September 1805 gold 22-livres per gros, struck on a 1727 gold 12,800-real coin of Brazil under John V, Minas Gerais, countermarked 22 above eagle raised within a shaped indent, 23.01 grams, “the only recorded Martinique countermark on a ‘Double Joe,’ ” “coin About Fine, medium clip around the edge and countermark” VF, £14,400 ($22,752 U.S.).

Virgin Islands, circa 1798 gold 66-shilling coin of 8 pennyweight standard, on counterfeit 1769 gold 6,400-real coin of Brazil under Joseph I, Rio Mint, “countermarked RC raised within a rectangular indent on a large central plug,” 12.44 grams, “coin and countermark fine but latter rather crude,” £9,000 ($14,220 U.S.). ¦