Schulman b.v.
Auction 373 15 Dec 2022
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Mozambique - 50 Centavos n.d. (1914-1918?), Silver, PROVINCIA MOÇAMBIQUE Pretoria mint (?). PROVINCIA / MOÇAMBIQUE. Rev. 50 / CENTAVOS. Struck over a Deutsch Ostafrika Rupie 1902.Gom. –; KM. –.In 1932 officer José Cardoso visited the old mint in Pretoria which had been defunct since 1902. Inside he was surprised to discover several coins and dies for a hitherto unknown 50 Centavos-piece of the Portuguese province of Moçambique. All pieces were struck over silver Rupies of Deutsch Ostafrika. When inquiring about the coins he was told that during World War I the British troops in the Transvaal and the Portuguese troops in Mozambique cooperated against the Germans and the British were allowed to establish military bases in the Portuguese colony.
However, since the British forces lacked local currency it proved difficult to make payments there. It was then suggested that the German silver Rupies could instead be used as they were similar in size to the old Portuguese 500 Reis. Since then British payments were made in Rupies, now considered equivalent to 500 Reis or 50 Centavos.
Yet it is still a mystery how these overstruck pieces came to be. As far as is known the Rupies were received with little opposition, thus making recoinage seemingly unnecessary. Was there a greater reluctance to accept the Rupies than we know? Did the allied Brits and Portuguese wish to remove German imagery from their currency? José Cardoso discovered no more than what is mentioned here. Whatever may have happened, the project must not have been a large undertaking. The overstruck pieces are excessively rare, with this example as perhaps the very first on the market.
For the entire article on these coins, see: Torres, J. (1963). "Cunhou-se moeda Portuguesa no Transval durante a guerra?", in: Nummus: Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Numismática, Vol. 7-2, No. 24, pp. 119-121.11.56 g. RRRR. Of the highest rarity and of great historic significance UNC
However, since the British forces lacked local currency it proved difficult to make payments there. It was then suggested that the German silver Rupies could instead be used as they were similar in size to the old Portuguese 500 Reis. Since then British payments were made in Rupies, now considered equivalent to 500 Reis or 50 Centavos.
Yet it is still a mystery how these overstruck pieces came to be. As far as is known the Rupies were received with little opposition, thus making recoinage seemingly unnecessary. Was there a greater reluctance to accept the Rupies than we know? Did the allied Brits and Portuguese wish to remove German imagery from their currency? José Cardoso discovered no more than what is mentioned here. Whatever may have happened, the project must not have been a large undertaking. The overstruck pieces are excessively rare, with this example as perhaps the very first on the market.
For the entire article on these coins, see: Torres, J. (1963). "Cunhou-se moeda Portuguesa no Transval durante a guerra?", in: Nummus: Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Numismática, Vol. 7-2, No. 24, pp. 119-121.11.56 g. RRRR. Of the highest rarity and of great historic significance UNC