10 Réis - Maria I Large Type, Low and High Crowns, Lisbon Mint

Maria I's copper coinage of the late 1780s and 1790s was minted under considerable fiscal strain — Portugal's metropolitan economy was heavily dependent on Brazilian gold remittances that had been declining since mid-century, leaving the crown increasingly reliant on token copper issues to service everyday transactions. The "Low Crown" and "High Crown" varieties catalogued under Bentes 305 and 306 reflect successive punch modifications at the Lisbon mint, likely made between die marriages rather than as any deliberate policy change.

Neither variety commands a significant premium over the other in circulated grades, but the distinction matters to type collectors working the series in full.