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Tostão - Afonso VI
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1656-1663 |
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| Composition | Silver (.9166) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central design features a bold plain cross with small pellets or ornamental points at each of the four terminals, dividing the field into four quarters each containing a small pellet or annulet. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded border, with the circular Latin legend distributed around the periphery of the coin. The cross is rendered in high relief relative to the flat field, a hallmark of the hammered tostão coinage of Afonso VI. |
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| Additional information |
Afonso VI came to the throne as a minor in 1656, with his mother Luísa de Gusmão serving as regent through 1662 — a period when Portugal was still fighting the Restoration War against Spain that had begun in 1640. Silver coinage during these years had to compete with chronic shortages of bullion and the constant financial drain of maintaining armies on the Alentejo frontier. The tostão, worth 100 réis, was a workhorse denomination through all of it.
The Gomes references A6 22 and A6 23 distinguish between die variants produced across the reign, likely reflecting changes at the Lisbon mint as administrative control shifted from the regency to the king's own — ultimately short — personal rule.