20 Réis - Pedro II Countermarked 40 Réis, KM# 378

This piece began life as a 40 Réis copper struck during the João VI or early Pedro I period, later countermarked and revalued to 20 Réis under a Brazilian monetary reform effort of 1835 aimed at rationalizing the chaotic colonial-era copper coinage still flooding circulation. The countermarking program was Brazil's pragmatic answer to a genuine supply problem — reminting was slow and expensive, and the northern provinces in particular were drowning in underweight and debased coppers of wildly inconsistent origin.

Host coin quality varies enormously, and the countermark placement is frequently off-center.