Portugal (1495-1521) 10 reis
This specimen was lot 74440 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "PORTUGAL. 10 Reis, ND (1495-21). Lisbon Mint. Manuel I. PCGS AU-50. A particularly attractive example, boasting strong details and attractive moderate gray toning." This was the smallest denomination struck in good silver. It was converted to copper in 1712.
Wikipedia comments,
"Manuel established the Casa da Índia, a royal institution that managed Portugal's monopolies and its imperial expansion. He financed numerous famed Portuguese navigators, including Pedro Álvares Cabral (who discovered Brazil), Afonso de Albuquerque (who established Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean), among numerous others. The income from Portuguese trade monopolies and colonized lands made Manuel the wealthiest monarch in Europe, allowing him to be one of the great patrons of the Portuguese Renaissance, which produced many significant artistic and literary achievements. Manuel patronized numerous Portuguese intellectuals, including playwright Gil Vicente (called the father of Portuguese and Spanish theatre). The Manueline style, considered Portugal's national architecture, is named for the king."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.65-1.00 g, 0.917 fine silver, 16 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Gomes-18.01.
- 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, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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