10 Réis - Pedro I Countermarked 40 Réis

When Pedro I declared Brazilian independence in September 1822, the new empire inherited a monetary system built on Portuguese colonial coinage — much of it undervalued, hoarded, or simply inadequate for daily commerce. The countermark program that produced this piece was a fiscal stopgap: existing copper 10 Réis were restamped and revalued upward to 40 Réis, quadrupling their face value by decree rather than by new minting. It was a blunt instrument, and it worked poorly — counterfeiting of the countermark itself became an immediate problem.

KM#427 pieces vary considerably in the quality and placement of the applied stamp, depending on which mint facility handled the operation.