The "Christo Cross" countermark was applied to full-weight Maria Theresa Thalers and other large silver trade coins circulating in Portuguese Timor around 1900, a colonial administration solution to chronic coinage shortages on an island the Lisbon government chronically underfunded. Rather than ship struck coinage from Lisbon or Macau, local authorities simply authenticated existing foreign silver by punching it. The countermark itself — a cross associated with the Order of Christ, the body through which Portugal administered much of its early colonial enterprise — gave the pieces official sanction without the expense of a mint.
The host coin matters considerably to specialists. Thalers are most frequently encountered, but examples on Spanish colonial 8 reales and various other trade dollars exist, each commanding different collector premiums.
The "Christo Cross" countermark was applied to full-weight Maria Theresa Thalers and other large silver trade coins circulating in Portuguese Timor around 1900, a colonial administration solution to chronic coinage shortages on an island the Lisbon government chronically underfunded. Rather than ship struck coinage from Lisbon or Macau, local authorities simply authenticated existing foreign silver by punching it. The countermark itself — a cross associated with the Order of Christ, the body through which Portugal administered much of its early colonial enterprise — gave the pieces official sanction without the expense of a mint.
The host coin matters considerably to specialists. Thalers are most frequently encountered, but examples on Spanish colonial 8 reales and various other trade dollars exist, each commanding different collector premiums.