100 Réis - Maria II Pattern

Maria II came to the Portuguese throne amid the Liberal Wars, a dynastic conflict between constitutional and absolutist factions that left the country's monetary system in disarray. This 1836 piece is a pattern — struck for approval rather than circulation — produced in the turbulent period just before Portugal undertook a comprehensive currency reform that would standardize the réis coinage under the new constitutional monarchy. The reform itself was driven as much by political necessity as economic: the new regime needed visible, legible symbols of legitimate authority on its coinage.

The Gomes reference E 10.01 designation marks it as the primary pattern type in the series.