320 Réis - José I Light Type - Lisbon Mint

The "Light Type" designation distinguishes this issue from the heavier 320 réis struck earlier in José I's reign — the reduction reflected a deliberate Portuguese monetary policy response to chronic silver shortages and the practical realities of supplying colonial Brazil with circulating coinage across the Atlantic. Lisbon was producing for a market it could not easily monitor or recall.

José I's reign was dominated in its early years by the Marquis of Pombal, whose sweeping economic reforms extended directly into mint administration and colonial currency supply. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake had already disrupted institutional continuity at the Casa da Moeda; the coins struck in the following two decades carry that administrative turbulence in their often inconsistent die work.