Penelope, 1794
Type: Hired Cutter ; Armament 18
Hired : 1794 ; Disposal date or year : 8 Jul 1799
Disposal Details : see below.
Notes:

20-21 Apr 1797 operation mounted to cut out a number of merchant vessel prizes being held at Jean-Rabel.

26 Nov 1797 captured a French privateer, name unknown, off the Start.

24 Jan 1798 captured the French privateer Venturer 10 leagues from the Start.

1 Jan 1799 CO : Lt D Burdwood ; stationed : Channel (N.C.).

11 Apr 1799 captured the Spanish Vessel Gaviota.

8 Jul 1799 captured by the Spanish.

The link to William James history, researched and written many years after the event, probably tells the true story regarding the origin of the money, but I thought it interesting to note the story that was doing the rounds at the time of the capture : the following appeared in the Naval Chronicles : 27 Jul 1799 Plymouth, by letters from Gibraltar it appears that the Penelope cutter, Lt. Hamlyn dispatched by Earl St. Vincent to get intelligence of the fleets, fell in with and beat off a Spanish royal brig of 16 guns ; but the Penelope, being much disabled, and becalmed, fell an easy prey to a Spanish frigate. Unfortunately Lt. H. had on board the Penelope �8000 in dollars, the produce of two prizes captured some days before, and which he had not time to land before he was ordered to sea from Gibraltar. End of quote. I suspect that James' story is more likely i.e. arises from a legal process, and following the completion of that process, which, as you can see below, usually takes months, and can take years, prize money is paid to contracted civilian agents to distribute to the officers and men individually, thus it seems unlikely an unlikely story : apart from the fact that it seems an exceptionally large and unlikely sum for a cutter to be due from her prizes !

21 Sep 1801 paid prize money for the capture of the Spanish Vessel Gaviota.

Plymouth Circa Jul 1802 prize money resulting from the capture of the Danish Brig Neptunus, captured in company with the Hired Armed Cutter Constitution, due for payment shortly.