Nyassa 1894-H 500 reis token
This specimen was lot 1032 in Schulman sale 375 (Amsterdam, April 2023), where it sold for €5,500 (about US$7,196 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Mozambique. 500 Reís Pattern. 1894 H. Issued by Nyassa Company. Heaton mint. Tower divides value within circle. Rev. tower divides value within circle. RRR. Extremely rare piece that is very seldomly offered. Established by a merchant from Lisbon, Bernard Daupais, the Nyassa Company was founded to develop the area between Nyassaland and Cabo Delgado, a territory that covered more than 120,000 square kilometers. From the offset, Daupais struggled to raise the necessary local funds to keep the operations of his syndicate afloat. Therefore, a consortium of English and French bankers acquired the majority stake in the company, thus forcing Daupais to move the headquarters of his venture from Lisbon to London. During this period, the Nyassa Company developed itself as a middle station for freely subjugated slaves in Mozambique, deriving its main source of income from customs duties. From this newly acquired wealth, the Nyassa Company presumably struck pattern[s] in a variety of metals." The Nyassa Company derived much of its income by supplying indentured labor to the mines of South Africa. In 1913, the miners dropped the Nyassa Company in favor of other suppliers and the company was never able to replace the revenue. Its concession was terminated in 1929, when it owed over a million pounds. We see ten and twenty réis in the SCWC, along with silver 500 réis and 1000 réis that probably never got past the pattern stage.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: KM-Tn3.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Absil, Eddy, Florentine van Hees, Tim Poelman, Catelijne van den Bosch, Evert Philippeau, Andrew Absil, Schulman sale 375, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2023.
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