LXXX Réis '4 Vintens' - Afonso VI

Afonso VI's reign was defined less by the king himself than by the men who controlled him — first his mother Luísa de Gusmão as regent, then the Count of Castelo Melhor, who effectively governed Portugal while the mentally and physically impaired king held nominal power. These coins were struck during the grinding final phase of the Portuguese Restoration War against Spain, a conflict that had begun in 1640 and would not conclude until the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668. Military expenditure was relentless, and the silver coinage of this period circulated hard in a country funding war on multiple fronts.

The popularly used designation "4 Vintens" reflects the coin's trading value in vinténs rather than its official réis denomination — a common habit among Portuguese merchants and soldiers of the period that outlasted the coins themselves.