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1200 Réis - Luis I Countermarked over 960 Réis - Brazil Colony
| Issuer | Azores |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the crowned Portuguese royal arms — a quartered shield bearing the five quinas (escutcheons) of Portugal and the castle of the Algarve — surmounted by an elaborate royal crown. The circular legend surrounding the shield reads JOANNES·D·G·PORT·BRAS·ET·ALG·P·REGENS, identifying João (John) as Prince Regent of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves. The date is split across the upper field on either side of the crown, with the denomination 960 also incorporated into the legend. The coin displays rich iridescent toning in shades of blue, amber, and copper, with a toothed border encircling the entire design. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Portugal's Azores islands ran chronically short of circulating silver throughout the nineteenth century, and the colonial administration's solution was blunt: take whatever coin was available and stamp it up to a new, locally valid value. This particular piece began life as a 960 Réis struck for Brazilian colonial circulation — itself already a countermarked coin, since the 960 Réis type was produced by overstamping earlier Spanish colonial eight-reales pieces. By 1887, this example carried at least two generations of official re-authorization before reaching an Azorean pocket.
The 1887 countermark is the final Portuguese application under Luís I, applied to already-aged host coins well past their Brazilian relevance.