Azores (1582) 2 tostao
This specimen was lot 2418 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted,
"AZORES. Azores - Portugal. 2 Tostao (200 Reais), ND (1582). Angra do Heroismo Mint. Antonio I (the Prior of Crato). PCGS AU-50; Countermark: AU Details. Issued by decree of August 1582. Countermark: Falcon with shaped indent. Countermark applied to the obverse of a undated Lisbon mint Tostao of Manuel I. A SCARCE and seldom encountered issue. The countermark is deeply impressed, though slight[ly] obscured by the host design features, on a nicely preserved host coin. The surfaces are relatively smooth with minor earthen deposits adding to its originality and pleasing appearance. This piece has very little evidence of circulation and the rich gray surfaces give this interesting example an antiquated look.
Due to financial hardships and debasement of his coinage Antonio I issued the 1 April 1582 decree decreasing the value of copper coinage resulting in them being countermarked. Later in August of the same year, another decree was issued that raised the value of all gold and silver coinage of good weight and purity then in circulation, mostly of earlier Portuguese or Spanish origins, doubling their value. This was the easiest way to alleviate the monetary crisis, but copper coinage remained unchanged since there was no profit to be made. When later defeated by the Spanish, all debased coinage of Antonio I was confiscated under penalty of death, explaining their rarity today. Antonio fled to France and eventually to Holland seeking help to re-establish his throne, but failed to gain support and ended his days in France on a small pension."
When king Sebastian of Portugal was killed in Morocco while on crusade in 1578, the throne fell vacant. Antonio, prior of Crato and first cousin of the slain king, put himself forward as a candidate for the throne but had to yield before Philip II of Spain with his much larger treasury and army. Antonio held out for a while in the Azores, where this coin was issued, but had to flee into exile in 1582. Portugal was united with Spain until 1640.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Gomes-An.26.01; Museu Numismatico Portugues-1992.
- Alberto Gomes and Francisco Antonio Magro, Moedas Portuguesas e do Território Que Hoje é Portugal: Catálogo das Moedas Cunhadas para o Continentes e Ilhas Adjacentes, para os Territórios do Ultramar e Grão-Mestres Portugueses da Ordem de Malta, 6ª Edição, Lisbon: Associação Numismática de Portugal, 2013.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
Link to: