Brazil 1819(b) 4000 reis
The first specimen was lot 23971 in Heritage sale 3026 (Long Beach, October 2013), where it sold for $3,818.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "João VI '4-Petal Flowers' gold 4000 Reis 1819-(R), MS63 NGC. Nearly prooflike with light die rust speckling (as made) in the reverse fields. From The RLM Collection, Part II." The second specimen was lot 33144 in Heritage sale 3094 (Chicago, August 2021), where it sold for $96,000. The catalog description[2] noted,
"Brazil: Semi-Mythical 1819 Bahia 4000 Reis - The First We Have Seen, João VI gold 4000 Reis 1819-(B) MS63 NGC, Bahia mint. Date between two crosses. It is genuinely a rare opportunity that we are able to offer a Brazilian coin of such mythical status as the 4000 Reis of 1819 struck at Bahia--a mint-date altogether missing from the RLM, Paulistana, and Santa Cruz collections, and one which we have been entirely unable to locate coming to auction in at least the last several decades; one reportedly formed part of lot 1037 in the March 1997 sale of the Norweb Collection, though it was unpictured and simply described as "very fine." Minted during a period when gold was already decidedly scarce in the Bahia region of Brazil, the period of João's majority as King João VI saw an almost complete stagnation of the mint for gold coins, with this particular denomination struck for only two years, and then not again until 1825. Struck to a tiny fraction of the figure of the contemporary Rio mint--where 49,000 pieces were produced during this same year--the 1819 is undoubtedly the most challenging date of the whole 4000 Reis series, with a piece surviving in this quality usually an unimaginable occurrence. Of the utmost importance to all collectors of Brazilian coinage and certain to fill a long-time gap in even the most advanced of cabinets."
The Rio mint struck this type 1818-22 in reasonable numbers such that it is not rare but Bahia mint product is rare. The Bahia product is distinguished by the crosses flanking the date instead of the usual florettes.
Recorded mintage: 1,864.
Specification: 8.07 g, 0.917 fine gold, .237 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM 327.3, LMB-580, Gomes-28.01 (Rare), Bentes-436.01 (R3).
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Amato, Claudio, and Irlei S. Neves, Livro das Moedas do Brasil, 14a ed. Sao Paulo, 2015.
- 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.
- Pimentel, Alvaro Mendes, Catálogo de Moedas Brasileiras de 1643 a 1962, 9a Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3026, World & Ancient Coins, featuring the RLM Collection, Part Two, the Nogales Collection and the Goetz Medals Die Archive, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.
- [2]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, ANA WFOM World & Ancient Coins Platinum Night Signature Auction #3094, featuring the Cape Coral Collection, the WTR Collection and the Monaco Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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