Colonia Santa Teresa (1940) 200 reis token
This specimen was lot 55610 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $100. The catalog description[1] noted, "BRAZIL. Brass 200 Reis Token, ND (ca. 1940). NGC MS-63. Leprosarium coinage. Issued by Colonia Santa Teresa (abbreviated and inscribed C.S.T. on the reverse)." Leprosy, a wasting and disfiguring disease, has aroused fear and panic in societies around the world since Biblical times. To reduce contagion, victims were confined to leprosariums. In 1897, a medical conference in Berlin proposed the use of special money therein to prevent the spread of the disease. This was taken up in several countries, including Panama, Colombia, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia and elsewhere. Brass coins were issued for the Colonia Santa Teresa in Brazil in denominations of 100 to 1000 réis. It was proven in the 1950's that the disease did not contaminate money and leprosarium coinage was gradually withdrawn. The Santa Teresa coinage was virtually unobtainable to collectors until a number of high grade sets came on the market some years ago. These were probably never issued.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: brass, 23 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-L2.
- Amato, Claudio, and Irlei S. Neves, Livro das Moedas do Brasil, 14a ed. Sao Paulo, 2015.
- Pimentel, Alvaro Mendes, Catálogo de Moedas Brasileiras de 1643 a 1962, 9a Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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