What type of coin is this?

BoxTopp

The coin is made of copper and is the size of a silver dollar. The "20" is slightly off center and there is a wreath all the way around this side. I see a date of 1782 I think

lordmarcovan

Looks like a Brazilian 20-reis piece from the early 1800's. Brazil was under Portuguese rule then so there's a chance it could be a Portuguese coin, but I don't think so- as best I can remember, those counterstamped pieces were all Brazilian.

The "20" is off-center because it is a counterstamp added later. I believe this was done to change the legal tender value of the coin when inflation or some other cause made the value fluctuate. Originally it would've been minted with a different denomination. Since I don't have Krause handy and cannot remember off the top of my head whether the counterstamp increased or decreased the value of the coin, I don't remember what the original denomination would've been, but the coin would've originally been a 40-reis devalued to 20 reis or a 10-reis increased to 20. Or something like that. Somebody with the book can tell you.

lordmarcovan

OK, dug out my book and skimmed a little bit. In that condition it is hard for me to ID exactly, but I am 90% it is Brazilian. I suppose there's a chance it could be from the homeland (Portugal), but I don't think so.

The counterstamp does appear to have been a devaluation. They took an older coin (probably an 80-reis piece?) and counterstamped it to pass as a 20-reis piece, probably because of inflation.

It's probably from the first decade or two of the 1800's.

BoxTopp

Thanks lordmarcovan, I was trying to help someone else, who found that coin.

lordmarcovan

Even though I cannot ID it precisely I can tell you that it is almost 200 years old and I can also unfortunately tell you that it isn't gonna be worth more than a few cents at most in that condition.

You say a friend found it- so it's a detector find, then? I thought it had the look of a dug piece.

Even though it ain't really worth anything in that shape, I would be tickled to dig one- as a fellow detectorist I can tell y'all that monetary value means little or nothing when it comes to dug stuff, if I'm the one who found it. It's all about the "coolness" factor- and that has a high coolness factor!

1jester

Definitely high on the coolness factor.

WillieBoyd2

I would be curious where this item was found (state, country)?
It might not even be a coin but a weight (20 grams?).

sumnom

Lord M is on the right track. This is Brazilian for sure, early 19th century.

BoxTopp

<< <i>I would be curious where this item was found (state, country)?
It might not even be a coin but a weight (20 grams?). >>


The coin was found at Stockton, Cal.