Brazil 1822-R 6400 reis Fr-98
This specimen was lot 30025 in Heritage sale 3105 (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $96,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Brazil: 6 Known: Rarer Than the Coronation Piece of Pedro I. João VI gold 6400 Reis 1822/0-R AU58 NGC, Rio de Janeiro mint. An outstandingly rare issue from the entire Brazilian series, this highly coveted piece rises above the Pedro II 1822-R 6400 Reis in rarity (16 known). Despite not having the '1st Issue from Independent Brazil' symbolism, the present offering can be regarded with the title of 'Last Brazilian Issue under Portugal.' Guimaraes notes only 6 examples surviving to present day, with only a single other brought to market, an NGC AU53. While 8 pieces are accounted for by NGC and PCGS combined, we have located 2 of them and verified that they are in fact Portuguese 1822 6400 Reis from the Lisbon mint (no mintmark after date), a reason that leads us to believe a fraction of the certified population can be Portugal and not Brazil. All remaining specimens share the same pair of dies, described by Guimaraes as being a re-worked obverse die from the 1820 issues (which we were able to verify in this piece upon close inspection). The offering presents lightly toned, crisp, and semi-glossy surfaces with an appealing sheen. Missing from the Eliasberg, Norweb, RLM, and even the BES (Banco Espirito Santo) collections, the latter of which is considered the most complete collection of Brazilian gold coins, this immense rarity is the single piece to be auctioned in the last 20 years and is sure to excite advanced Brazilian type and trophy coin collectors. From the Petropolis Collection, Part III."
The type was struck 1818-22 with the portrait of João as king. All the dates are scarce to rare. The SCWC shows the 1822-R but doesn't include it in the listings.
Recorded mintage: 599.
Specification: 14.34 g, 0.917 fine gold, .423 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-98, KM 328, cf. LMB-591 (unlisted overdate), Guimaraes-1822/20-1a.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pimentel, Alvaro Mendes, Catálogo de Moedas Brasileiras de 1643 a 1962, 9a Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2023 January 9 NYINC World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction - New York #3105, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2022.
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