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1100 Réis - Pedro II Countermark 'Crowned Sphere' and '1100' over 1/4 Moeda, Afonso VI
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1686 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse retains the original hammered design of the Afonso VI quarter Moeda host coin, featuring the royal arms of Portugal within an ornamental framework typical of mid-17th-century Portuguese gold coinage. The peripheral legend identifies the issuing monarch as Afonso VI, King of Portugal, by the grace of God, with the date 1666 and the original face value of 1000 Réis incorporated into the legend. The letters SAS are visible in the lower portion of the field, likely representing a mint or assayer mark. The surface shows characteristic irregular flan edges consistent with hammered gold coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Portugal's chronic shortage of gold coinage in the late seventeenth century drove the Crown to countermark existing circulating pieces rather than strike fresh coin — a cheaper and faster expedient than commissioning new dies and running full mint operations. The crowned sphere punch and denomination stamp converted older fractional gold into a revalued denomination, effectively recirculating Afonso VI-era material under Pedro II's authority after the latter had deposed and exiled his own brother in 1683.
Afonso VI had been declared mentally unfit and removed from the throne by a court faction aligned with Pedro. Coins bearing his name were not recalled outright but were instead overstruck and reissued — an administratively tidy solution that also quietly subordinated the old king's monetary authority to the new one.