Looks like a very worn large cent and counter stamped although i could be wrong not sure to be exact.
Looks like it is a ca 1830 Brazil 80 Reis with a 20 counterstamp. http://www.acoinshop.net/html/brazil__coins_.html
I'm trying to remember - didn't some of the "loyal" Spanish colonies use counterstamps like that on coins from breakaway Republics? If memory serves, those counterstamps were pretty rare.
Interesting! I can't find much more on the web about the 1830 80 Reis and nothing with the 20 counterstamp. There's some with a 40 counterstamp here and there, but that's about it. I need somebody that really knows these to pin it down. Is 1830 the only year they made using these dies? I didn't see an 1829 nor a 1831, all of my web searching only showed 1830.
These counterstamps were applied in 1835 to Brazilian and Portuguese Colonial coins of 14.34 grams. Krause lists Brazilian coins of 40, 75 and 80 Reis, and Mozambique 80 Reis. Host dates 1799-1833. Value varies by host type and date, but most at $2.50 in G, $3.50-5 in VG.
I'm not familiar with these Brazilian pieces, but Brunk notes that the numerical stamps such as this one were government countermarks. Unfortunately he doesn't reveal the purpose of them. It might be that they were applied to assign a value of some sort to the coin. In his book he pictures an old copper with a "40" countermark like the one you pulled from the internet BadThad. Bruce
Thanks guys! On another forum an astute member said this is actually a 40 reis host. That would make more sense with the 20 counterstamp. The 80 reis was typically counterstamped with a 40 to half their value.
That's interesting. At that time I guess they were devaluing their coinage for some reason. I like the coin even though it's heavily worn. Hard to even imagine how many people handled it and all the places it circulated over the years. Bruce
