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!
250 Réis - Pedro II Countermark '250' and new lettering over 1/2 Cruzado
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1698-1705 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 11.47 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a large cross of the Order of Christ dominating the central field, with the four quadrants of the cross each containing a distinctive shield or pellet device, consistent with the original 1/2 Cruzado host coin type. A beaded inner circle frames the cross motif, itself enclosed within an outer beaded border. The circumferential Latin legend IN HOC SIGNO VINCES ('In this sign you shall conquer') runs around the full periphery between the two borders. The crowned '250' countermark, oval in form, is visible struck over the upper arm of the cross, clearly distinguishable from the original hammered design beneath it. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1698-1705) - (fr) Loi 14 Jun 1698 |
| Additional information |
Portugal's chronic shortage of fractional silver in Brazil during the late seventeenth century forced the crown into a series of countermarking campaigns rather than striking entirely new coinage. Existing 1/2 Cruzado pieces were restamped and remonetized at new face values — a faster solution than shipping freshly minted coin across the Atlantic. The '250' countermark, punched alongside revised lettering, effectively recycled older silver into current circulation without smelting it down.
The host coin's original date and mint remain visible on most examples, creating a layered record of two distinct monetary moments on a single flan.