Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 000 Reis - Miguel I Overprint on P#15 - John Prince Regent
| Issuer | Real Erário (Royal Treasury), Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1828 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 000 Réis (Reais) (20 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on cream paper. A row of eight small oval vignettes runs across the upper portion, each enclosing a crowned royal arms. The body of the note carries the manuscript and printed text of the apólice obligation, with hand-filled date and serial details. A red overprint in a starburst cartouche bearing the legend 'D. Miguel I - 1828' was applied to the original P#15 Prince Regent note to validate it under the new reign. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse, largely blank but bearing approximately eight circular validation stamps in black ink, each containing a crowned Portuguese royal arms at centre surrounded by a month name and a date (years ranging from 1802 to 1807), applied at successive renewal intervals. Handwritten annotations in brown ink are also present. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
When Miguel I seized the Portuguese throne in 1828 and declared himself absolute king, the existing stock of João VI-era treasury notes required immediate political neutralization. Rather than print new currency from scratch, the Real Erário simply overstamped circulating 20,000 Réis notes from the João VI Regent series — a cheap, fast solution that also signaled administrative continuity while erasing the prior reign's nominal authority from the paper in use.
The overprint practice makes condition assessment complicated: the underlying note and the stamp aged at different rates, and the ink adhesion on the applied text was often inconsistent, leading to partial transfers that are sometimes mistaken for forgeries.