Ceara (1833-34) 40 reis
This specimen was lot 8622 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $264. The catalog description[1] noted, "BRAZIL. Ceara. 40 Reis, ND (1833-34). PCGS VF-35; Countermark: AU Details. Countermark: Star with CEARA around. Issued by decree of 3 October 1833 until November 1834. Struck on the reverse of a Brazilian 80 Reis. The star countermark indicated that the value of the coin was 50% of the stamped original value. A well circulated issue, mostly before the countermark was placed. The countermark has a good amount of details and was sharply applied. Both sides display with a deep brown patina with a few red sparkles in the countermark." Ceara is a state in northeastern Brazil. To encourage the circulation of the overissued copper coinage, local authorities rounded up and counterstamped Brazilian imperial copper coins to reduce their value by 50%. This eighty réis was converted to a forty réis; similar twenty (was forty), ten (was twenty) and five (was ten) réis are known. This countermark is now scarce and often counterfeited.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: host coin 28.69 g, copper.
Catalog reference: KM-398.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Pimentel, Alvaro Mendes, Catálogo de Moedas Brasileiras de 1643 a 1962, 9a Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
- Amato, Claudio, Irlei S. Neves and Arnaldo Russo, Livro das Moedas do Brasil, 12a ed. Sao Paulo, 2008.
- [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.
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