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5 Réis - Maria I Pattern
| Issuer | Azores (Portugal) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1797-1798 |
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| Currency | Real (1750-1830) |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the numeral '5' above the date '1797', all enclosed within a wreath of laurel or olive branches tied at the base. The encircling legend reads '* PORTUGALIÆ · ET · ALGARBIORUM · REGINA' in raised Latin characters, referencing Queen Maria I as Queen of Portugal and the Algarves. The design is executed in a bold, relief style typical of late 18th-century Portuguese coinage patterns. The flan shows evidence of hand preparation consistent with pattern production. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Azorean 5 Réis of 1797–1798 was never issued for circulation — it exists solely as a pattern struck to evaluate a proposed coinage for the islands during a period when the Portuguese crown was attempting to regularize currency supply across its Atlantic territories. Maria I, by then already showing signs of the mental deterioration that would lead to her formal incapacitation in 1799, had little direct involvement; the administrative push came from Lisbon bureaucrats managing a chronic shortage of small copper in the archipelago.
The Gomes reference M1 E1.01 suggests it sits at the opening of the catalogued sequence for this queen on these islands — a first proposal that went nowhere.