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!
600 Réis - Afonso VI Countermark '600' over '8 Reales - Felipe IV, Spain'
| Issuer | Portuguese Crown |
|---|---|
| Year | 1663 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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) | Gomes#A6 47 |
| 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 of the host 8 Reales cob coin bears the crowned royal monogram 'P' surmounted by the assayer's initial and flanked by the denomination numeral '8', above the quartered shield of Castile and León with the royal legend partially legible around the periphery. The inscription, characteristic of Felipe IV coinage struck at a Spanish colonial or Iberian mint, reads PHILIPVS IIII D G HISPANIARVM REX in fragmentary form around the field, heavily worn and partially off-flan due to the irregular cob flan. The entire reverse field shows the rough, uneven surface typical of macuquer production, with the legend truncated at the flan edge. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
In 1663, the Portuguese Crown faced a chronic silver shortage worsened by decades of the Restoration War against Spain. Rather than mint new coinage from scarce bullion, the solution was pragmatic: circulating Spanish eight-reales pieces — already abundant in Portugal through trade and military spending — were officially countermarked and revalued at 600 réis for domestic use. The host coins were struck under Felipe IV, the same Spanish king whose forces Portugal had been fighting since 1640.
The countermark program was authorized by Afonso VI's regency government. Spanish colonial macuquinas were the most common hosts, their irregular surfaces making clean application difficult.