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50 Réis - João IV Countermarked 1/2 Tostão
| Issuer | Brazil |
|---|---|
| Year | 1663 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Type 4 countermark applied to a Portuguese 1/2 Tostão host coin. The countermark consists of a crowned royal cypher, with the crown displayed prominently above the monogram in the central field. The underlying host coin retains visible elements of its original hammered design, including partial border dentilation. The strike is characteristic of emergency countermarking practice, with the countermark impression partially overlapping the host coin's original devices. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
In 1663, the Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil authorised a systematic countermarking programme to revalue and legitimise older silver coinage still circulating in the territory. Half-tostão pieces — originally struck in Portugal under earlier reigns — were stamped and placed back into circulation at a new tariffed value, a fiscal measure driven by chronic coin shortages in the colony rather than any new minting capacity. Brazil had no operating mint capable of producing fresh silver coinage at this point.
The countermark itself is the authenticating event; the host coin predates 1663 by potentially decades.