10 Reis - Maria II Countermark 'CROWNED SHIELD' over '5 Reis José'

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.