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!
960 Réis - Carlos I Countermark SHIELD over '960 Réis, Brazil'
| Issuer | Angola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1895 |
| 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 | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| 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 depicts a large armillary sphere occupying the central field, its meridian and equatorial rings rendered in fine detail, superimposed over the cross of the Order of Christ whose four arms extend to the coin's periphery. The sphere symbolises Portuguese maritime heritage and sovereignty over Brazil. The circular legend is divided around the design, reading SVBQ. SIGN. NATA. STAB., meaning 'Born under a steady sign.' The reeded edge is visible, consistent with the milled Brazilian host coinage of the period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Reeded. |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
By the 1890s, Angola's colonial economy was drowning in debased and foreign silver that the Lisbon authorities could neither fully account for nor withdraw. The solution applied here was the countermark — a Portuguese royal shield punched onto Brazilian 960 réis coins, themselves already a recycled currency struck on Spanish colonial 8 reales flans. This piece is thus three monetary lives deep: Spanish colonial silver, restruck in Rio de Janeiro, then authenticated for Angolan circulation by royal decree.
Carlos I was assassinated in Lisbon in February 1908, making his countermarked issues for the African territories a relatively short administrative window.