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100 Réis - João IV Countermarked 80 Réis
| Issuer | Brazil |
|---|---|
| Year | 1663 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Réis |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse of the host hammered silver coin, showing the remains of the original Portuguese royal design, likely featuring a cross or shield motif consistent with 80 Réis coinage of João III or Filipe I. The surfaces exhibit typical characteristics of hammered coinage, including an irregular flan and partially struck legends, now largely obscured by wear and the application of the countermark on the obverse. Beaded border remnants are visible along portions of the periphery. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
João IV died in 1656, leaving Portugal mid-war with Spain and its colonial treasury chronically short of small silver. The countermark program of 1663 — applied under the regency preceding Afonso VI's full assumption of power — was a fiscal stopgap: existing 100 Réis pieces were officially revalued downward to 80 Réis to discourage silver export and align circulating coinage with revised monetary ordinances. Brazil, as the crown's primary silver-processing colony, received these countermarked pieces as legal instruments of exchange rather than newly minted coin.
The applied countermark itself is the authenticating detail collectors must scrutinize — weak or doubled strikes are common, and outright forgeries of the punch exist.