150 Réis - Maria I

The Azorean 150 réis denomination was created specifically to address a chronic shortage of small silver coinage on the islands, whose remote Atlantic position made regular supply from Lisbon unreliable and slow. Rather than simply shipping coin from the metropole, Portuguese authorities authorized a local issue — an unusual concession that reflects just how difficult it was to keep the archipelago's markets functioning with mainland currency alone.

The Gomes reference suffix ".0x" indicates the existence of minor die varieties within this type, collectors of Portuguese colonial coinage having documented subtle differences in crown placement and legend spacing across the 1794–1798 run.