(1836) Token HT-145F, Baltimore /Brazil 1821 906r MD

Coin Details

Description

This Houck's Panacea counterstamp on a Brazilian 960 réis coin represents one of the most exotic host coin varieties in the entire Hard Times Token series. The Brazilian 960 réis, a large silver coin approximately 39mm in diameter, was itself typically overstruck on Spanish colonial 8 reales, making this piece a remarkable palimpsest of monetary history: a Spanish colonial coin restruck as a Brazilian coin and then counterstamped with American patent medicine advertising. The 960 réis coin entered American commerce through the extensive trade between the United States and Brazil in the 1820s and 1830s, when American merchants exchanged manufactured goods and foodstuffs for Brazilian coffee, sugar, and tropical products. Baltimore was a major node in this trade network, and Brazilian coins occasionally appeared in the city's commercial circulation alongside the more common Spanish and Mexican silver pieces. The multilayered monetary history of this piece — Spanish colonial origins, Brazilian restriking, and American counterstamping — makes it one of the most historically resonant items in the Houck's Panacea series and a vivid illustration of the interconnected Atlantic economy that linked the Americas, Europe, and beyond in the early nineteenth century.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Brazilian 960 réis host is one of the most unusual Houck varieties. Rarity R-7 to R-8.

Cross References

Rulau HT-145F; Brunk H-768