2000 Réis - Afonso VI Countermark 'Crowned 2' over 2 Cruzados

During the regency of Luísa de Gusmão and the early reign of her son Afonso VI, Portugal faced acute pressure on its gold coinage supply while simultaneously fighting to consolidate independence from Spain — recognized internationally only in 1668 at the Treaty of Lisbon. The countermark campaign that produced this piece was a practical fiscal measure: existing 2 Cruzado gold was restruck with a crowned numeral to revalue and authenticate circulating stock without the expense of full recoinage.

Afonso VI himself was largely a figurehead; real power ran through the Count of Castelo Melhor for most of this window. The countermark dates bracket his effective reign almost exactly.