454
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. x. DEC. 6, 1902.
knots should be replaced by the Girdle (Cordelidre)
of St. Francis. In 1518 the Due Charles III. com-
pleted the badge by adding to it fifteen enamelled
roses, alternating with the word Pert repeated
fifteen times, and conjoined by the girdle. Such is
the collar which Philibert-le-Beau bears at Brou,
both on his tomb and in the great window. What
is the meaning of this word or of these four initial
letters? Of all the interpretations which have
been given, the only one which seems really probable
is that which appears on a gold piece, struck in the
reign of Vittorio Amedeo I. (Victor Ame" I er ), which
is preserved in the medal cabinet of the Kings of
Sardinia: Federe Et Religione Tenemur: ' We are
united by honour and religion.' These words, which
are very suitable for the knights of a military and
religious order, ' appear to us, wrote M. Jules Baux
in 1854, ' to be the revelation of the literal meaning
of this motto of the princes of Savoy, in whom the
world saw shine, during more than eight centuries,
the honour and loyalty of chivalry, the faith and
devotion of the Christian' (' Histoire de 1'Eglise de
Brou/ p. 164)." Translated from 'Guide-Express
de 1'Eglise de Brou.' par 1'Abbe H. P., 5 me Edition,
1899, chap. xiv. p. 85.
Vittorio Amedeo I. became Duke of Savoy in 1630 and died in 1637. I give "Federe" as it appears in the text instead of "Fcedere." Touching the form "Amadeus," generally written in English, for "Amedeo," it may be noted that the Italian King of Spain was called " Amadeo," after the Spanish form of the name. On a 5-peseta piece of 1871, which I have, I find "Amadeo I. Rey de Espana." EGBERT PIERPOINT.
GROAT : BITS (9 th S. ix 84). In compliance with Q. V.'s request, I some little time back asked an official friend of mine in Trinidad to undertake the investigation desired by your correspondent as to the use of the term "groat " in that colony and in British Guiana. The result is now before me, and is at Q. V.'s service.
My correspondent begins with a quotation from Chalmers's ' History of Currency in the British Colonies' (1893), chap, ix., ' British Guiana,' to the following effect :
" Mention has already been made of the ancient custom of the masses to reckon by 'bits' in British Guiana. The bits originally represented a quarter of a guilder, and as in 1840 guilder tokens were rated at Is. 4rf. per guilder, the ' bit ' has thenceforth been identical with a British fourpenny piece. As the British fourpenny, though still legal tender in the United Kingdom, has been practically withdrawn from circulation at home for many years, the colony of British Guiana has been unable to renew its stock of these favourite coins. In view of demands from the colony, it was found necessary in 1891 to strike a new ' groat or four- pence ' for British Guiana and certain other West Indian colonies.* Currency was given to the new coin in this colony by the Order in Council and Royal Proclamation of 9 May, 1891, which was
- These were Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia.
brought into operation locally by the Governor's
proclamation of 1 July, 1891."
From this it would appear that prior to 1891 the word "groat" was not used, or very rarely used, in British Guiana, the word "bit" or quarter guilder being employed to denote fourpence. And it would further appear, as my correspondent points out, that Miss Rawlings ('History of the British Coinage,' 1898, p. 209, cited by Q. V.) is mis- taken in stating that the coinage of groats for British Guiana was resumed in 1888. It should be 1891. Possibly, however, he says, imperial fourpenny pieces were coined from 1888 to 1891 for use in British Guiana alone, until the new groats were issued in 1891.
By the Order in Council and Proclamation of 10 December, 1901, alluded to by Q. V. (a copy of which has been forwarded to me), and in virtue of an Order in Council and Proclamation of 3 February, 1898 (which it recites), applying certain modified portions of the Coinage Act, 1870, to the colony of Trinidad and Tobago, the provisions of the above Order in Council of 9 May, 1891, with regard to these silver "groats or fourpences," were extended to Trinidad and Tobago. So that the circulation of the West Indian four- penny pieces was legalized in Trinidad only last year, and the term "groat" would appear to be practically unknown there, or at all events never commonly used, and to have been confined to the official Order in Council and Proclamation.
It would seem, therefore, that the 'Historical English Dictionary ' is not quite accurate when (as cited by your correspondent) it states that "the name [groat] was neither officially recognized nor commonly used." The latter part is correct as applied to the West Indies, but the proclamation did "officially recognize" it.
My correspondent points out that the "bit" in Trinidad was fivepence (not four- pence as in British Guiana), or the tenth part of a dollar.
I enclose a British Guiana groat, or " bit" (dated 1891), which I obtained in our ordinary silver circulation in Antigua, in case Q. V. may like to have it. I fancy the term " bit " must originally have come from the States. It was an American lady that I first heard use the term. In England it is always pre- faced by the value, as a threepenny or a fourpenny "bit." In countries that use the term it would be taken, I imagine, to mean the smallest coin that is issued in silver.
J. S. UDAL, F.S.A.
Antigua, West Indies.
[The coin has been seat to Q. V.]
