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50 Réis - João IV Countermark 'SO' over 'XXXX'
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1642 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Teston (Tostão) (50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Countermark 'SO' (denoting 50 réis) applied in a circular punch to the left field of the host coin, superimposed over the pre-existing 'XXXX' mark of the original tostão. The large Roman numeral 'XXXX' is visible in the center of the coin field, struck in a saltire (X-cross) arrangement, while the oval countermark bearing the letters 'S' and 'O' is clearly impressed to the upper left. The host coin's original peripheral legend and decorative border remain partially visible around the circumference, though considerably worn. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
João IV reclaimed the Portuguese throne in 1640 after sixty years of Iberian Union under the Spanish Habsburgs, and the new regime faced an immediate coinage problem: the circulating stock was Spanish, degraded, or both. The countermarking campaigns of the early 1640s were a direct administrative response — existing pieces were restruck with royal authority to legitimize circulation under the restored Braganza crown without the cost of wholesale reminting.
The 'SO' over 'XXXX' countermark sequence indicates successive validation stamps, a layering that points to reuse of already-countermarked stock. Gomes J4 112 is among the more precisely attributable of these restruck types.