10 000 Reis - Miguel I Overprint on P#2 - John Prince Regent

When Miguel I seized the Portuguese throne in 1828 and declared himself absolute monarch, the new regime needed to assert control over circulating paper currency without the expense or delay of commissioning entirely new plates. The solution was a handstamp overprint applied to existing João (John) Prince Regent stock — P#2 — converting notes issued under a constitutional predecessor into instruments of Miguelite authority. It was a political act as much as a monetary one.

The two signatures present — Souza and Ribeiro — belong to treasury officials who served under Miguel's administration, replacing the earlier signatories rather than retaining them. Forged or fraudulently overprinted examples of this type are documented; the handstamp itself was not difficult to replicate.