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10 Reis - Maria II Countermark 'CROWNED SHIELD' over '5 Reis José'
| Issuer | Angola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the original design of the host coin, a José I 5 Réis of Angola, featuring a crowned Portuguese royal arms shield at center, with a quartered escutcheon bearing the traditional Portuguese quinas and castles. The shield is surrounded by a beaded inner border and the full circular legend reads AFRICA·PORTUGUEZA· with the date 1770 and denomination V (5 Réis) in the field. The legend is evenly spaced within the outer rim, struck in a plain field typical of colonial Portuguese copper coinage of the period. |
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| Reverse lettering | AFRICA·PORTUGUEZA·1770 · V · |
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| Additional information |
Angola in the 1830s suffered a chronic shortage of small change, and rather than ship new coinage from Lisbon, the colonial administration resorted to countermarking existing copper. Worn 5 Reis pieces from the reign of José I — coins already decades old by 1837 — were restruck with a crowned shield and circulated at double their face value. It was a pragmatic solution to a supply problem that Lisbon showed little urgency in solving.
The countermark itself is frequently weak or partially struck, a consequence of applying a punch to irregular, already-degraded flans.