10 Réis - Carlos I Pattern

Carlos I's reign saw a handful of pattern issues prepared for Portugal's Atlantic territories that never advanced to circulation strikes — this aluminium 10 Réis being among them. By 1901, the practical case for low-denomination coinage in the Azores was already weakening; the archipelago's economy ran heavily on credit and barter in rural communities, and the logistical cost of supplying small change rarely justified the effort. The pattern was catalogued but apparently abandoned without serious mintage consideration.