Catalog
800 Réis- José I Colonial Coinage
| Issuer | Mozambique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1755 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | The obverse features the crowned Portuguese royal coat of arms at centre, displaying the traditional escutcheons of the Kingdom of Portugal with the quinas (five blue shields bearing five white bezants) and the bordure of castles. The shield is surmounted by a royal crown rendered in high relief. The denomination 800 and the date 1755 flank the shield at left and right respectively. The circular legend IOSEPHUS.I.DG.PORT.REX.ET.D.AF.OR. runs around the periphery in Latin characters, identifying the issuing monarch as Joseph I, King of Portugal and Lord of Africa and the Orient. The coin's edge is bordered by a fine toothed or beaded rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
José I came to the Portuguese throne in 1750, and his colonial coinage for Mozambique was struck at Lisbon under circumstances already shadowed by instability — the catastrophic earthquake of November 1755 struck just as this issue was being produced, killing tens of thousands and destroying much of the capital. That the mint apparatus functioned at all that year is itself notable.
Mozambique at this period was administered as a subordinate territory of Portuguese India, not as an independent captaincy, which complicates provenance attribution in older collections.