1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark oval (1797)
"Oval countermark dollar"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1797 |
| Denomination | 4 Shillings 9 Pence |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | Yes |
| Composition | Silver (.896) (896/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 27.067g · 0.7797 t oz |
| Shape | Round |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate and draped bust of King Carlos IV right above date, legend around.
Crowned shield of arms dividing pillars, legend around.
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AffiliateAbout the 1797 1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark – oval
The 1797 1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark – oval is a circulating 4 shillings 9 pence coin, struck in 89.6% silver. It weighs 27.07g. Reverse design: Crowned shield of arms dividing pillars, legend around.
It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1797 1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark – oval worth?
No verified sale of the 1797 1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark – oval has been logged on MyCoinage yet. Its silver content is worth about £31.23 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
Why did the Bank of England stamp Spanish dollars in 1797?
Silver coin had almost vanished from circulation. The Bank of England held Spanish 8 reales, bought as bullion, and in the spring of 1797 it stamped them with a small oval head of George III and paid them out at 4s 9d each as an emergency crown-sized coin.
What is the small head stamped on the Spanish dollar?
The countermark is a tiny bust of George III in an oval. The Royal Mint Museum explains that the punch was the one normally used by Goldsmiths' Hall for hallmarking silver plate, which is why dealers often call it the oval hallmark.
What does 'two kings' heads not worth a crown' mean?
It is a saying from 1797. The countermarked dollars carried the Spanish king's portrait and George III's small head, yet passed for 4s 9d, three pence less than the five-shilling crown. Wikipedia also records the rhyme about stamping the head of a fool on the neck of an ass.
How long were oval countermarked dollars legal tender?
Only a few months. The Royal Mint Museum says they were issued in spring 1797 and, because they were widely counterfeited, declared no longer legal tender from the end of October 1797. An octagonal countermark followed in 1804.
How do I identify the 1797 1 Dollar - George III Type I countermark – oval?
Check the weight 27.07g and the metal (89.6% silver) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
By 1797 Britain had almost no silver coin in circulation. The Royal Mint Museum records that the Bank of England began buying Spanish silver 8 reales, or dollars, and reissued them to the public in the spring of 1797 at 4s 9d each, after stamping each one with a small oval bust of George III. Tony Clayton notes the need for a crown-sized coin had become very evident.
The dollars were slightly lighter and of lower fineness than an English crown, hence the valuation below five shillings and the jibe that "two kings' heads" were "not worth a crown". They were extensively counterfeited, and genuine dollars were sometimes given false countermarks, so the Bank called them in and they ceased to be legal tender from the end of October 1797. No record of how many were stamped is published.
This entry covers dollars of Charles IV of Spain, whose laureate and draped bust faces right above the date. The Royal Mint Museum's own example is a Mexico City dollar of 1794 weighing 27.02 g, and Royal Museums Greenwich holds a Mexico City piece of 1795 reading CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA, with the Spanish arms crowned between the Pillars of Hercules on the reverse.
The British element is only the countermark: a tiny head of George III in an oval, struck on the Spanish king's neck. The Royal Mint Museum says the punch was the one Goldsmiths' Hall normally used for hallmarking silver plate.
Collecting notes
Grade the host coin and the countermark separately, as dealers do; a sharp head on a worn dollar is common. Mexico City hosts of the 1790s, catalogued as ESC 129, are the type most often offered. The main risk is forgery: false countermarks on genuine dollars as well as cast or plated copies of the whole coin. The later octagonal countermark of 1804 used a different, larger punch.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- George III, Royal Mint Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III one dollar (RMM 1135), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III, Emergency Issues (1797-1799), Oval-Countermark Dollar, 1795-FM, Mexico City, Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III, Emergency Issues (1797-1799), Oval-shaped Countermark on AR Dollar (8 Reales) of Charles IV, Baldwin's (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Eight reales (countermarked), Royal Museums Greenwich (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Matthew Boulton, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Five Shillings, Quarter Guinea and Five and Six, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III oval countermark on Mexico 1778 FM 8 reales, Sovereign Rarities (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Forgery, dollar, George III countermarked coin (L.N232.1983.0.0), Leicester Museums and Galleries, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
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