I thought these two made a nice contrast. Most of the Brazil coppers I see from this era come counterstamped from the 2:1 devaluation. Please post any early Brazil coppers if you like.
I saw some of these the other day and considered buying one. I wasn't sure how big they are compared to other coins.
I think Countermark and Counterstamped is one of those numismatic terms that gets a lot of improper use in the numismatic world. The mark on this coin is counter to its original value. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3974.html
This is fascinating! Thanks for sharing I was reading a thread somewhere that silver overstruck coins are common back then but overstruck copper coins are somewhat uncommon. Cam anyone share any story on it? I collect overstrikes and Brazil is on the list too.
I think there were some threads on this topic a long time ago, before I joined. This one looks promising. My vague recollection was that copper coins were overproduced, especially during the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, so that the copper coinage was not worth its face value in silver any more. So the stamp would make copper valid coinage again, but at a reduced value.
I see an awful lot of counterstamped large coppers. I think that inflation ran rampant back then. I find many more counterstamped than normal ones.
At the risk of looking like a coin hoarder, or as if I were trying to corner the market in these: I was very enthusiastic about world countermarks for many years, and these just keep coming up for astonishingly cheap prices. Of some interest are the counterfeits - both the host coins (light weight) and the countermarks can be found as contemporary fakes. They are usually very crude compared to the official issues. The 20 reis countermark seems a bit scarcer than the 40 reis. Both of them are available by the ton!
