View source for Sabara 1812 gold bar Fr-105

[[Image:Brazil 1812 sabara obv H3026-23978.jpg|550px|thumb|Heritage sale 3026, lot 23949]]
[[Image:Brazil 1812 sabara rev H3026-23978.jpg|550px|thumb|photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries]]
[[Image:Brazil 1812 sabara guia H3026-23978.jpg|550px|thumb]]

This specimen was lot 23978 in Heritage sale 3026 (Long Beach, October 2013), where it sold for $199,750. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, <blockquote>"One of a few known Sabara Bars with "Guia"
João VI Prince Regent gold Ingot of Sabara 1812, with Guia Prober #1812-S-79, Assayer monogram AP.

Gold Ingots as Legal Tender in Brazil

For a period in the colonial history of Brazil, in addition to coins, gold ingots and bars circulated as legal tender. Legislation was passed to control the circulation of powder gold and to tax it at regional Foundries that were initially established in the 1770's. As the ingots were produced, it received marks that would identify the foundry, year, sequential production number, the assayer's monogram, the finess of the gold, and the weight. This way, the ingot was approved to circulate as coin in the amount defined in the "Guia", or respective certificate. In time, bars and ingots were taken out of circulation and the vast majority of bars melted and their respective Guias lost.

It became the work of numismatists to register and catalog the few pieces that remain in existence today. Prodigious Brazilian numismatist Kurt Prober dedicated a good part of his life as a numismatic researcher to produce a comprehensive study which he published in two volumes in 1990 under the title "Ouro em Po e em Barras Meio Circulante no Brasil 1754-1833". This work has become the definitive reference for this area of Luso-Brazilian numismatics. 
<p>The total number of authentic ingots today is 219 pieces from 9 foundries (Numismatist Claudio Schroeder of Porto Alegre contributed) Here is the breakdown:

Province of Goias.

                Foundry of Goiãs, 30 known 1790 - 1823

                Foundry of São Felix, 1 guia but no ingots 1773

Province of Mato Grosso.

                Foundry of Mato Grosso, 22 known 1784 - 1820 

      Foundry of Cuiaba, 9 known 1821 - 1822

Province of Minas Gerais.

                Foundry of Rio das Mortes, 7 known 1796 - 1818

                Foundry of Sabara, 85 known entre 1778 - 1833

                Foundry of Serro Frio, 21 known 1809 - 1832

                Foundry of Vila Rica, 43 known 1794 - 1818

                Foundry of Ouro Preto (ex-Vila Rica), 1 known 1828</p>

 <p>As many as half of the specimens above are in public or private museums. Legendary Portuguese collector and a close friend of Dr. Monteiro, the late Carlos Costa had 36 specimens in his collection that is today part of the Banco Espirito Santo Museum in Lisbon. The Smithsonian in D.C. has a few through Eli Lilly's donation. </p><p>Dr. Monteiro was able to obtain five bars in his six decades collecting (the fifth ingot of 1832 will be offered in January 2014 in NY). I can only think of another private collection that has that many pieces but none with a respective Guia as this lot. Kurt Prober mentions that this bar was first illustrated in the auction catalog of Hans Schulman of New York in June of 1967 with a base price of US$3000. </p><p>The Guia reads: "N.79. Deposited in this gold exchange house, João Baptista Maciel four ounces of gold from which the fifth for Royal Tax was paid and from the remainder a bar that weighed three ounces, one oitava and twelve grains. The Guia ends with "bar delivered at this Foundry of Sabara on January 7th, 1812." The condition of this Sabara bar's Guia is unheard of. Heritage has been fortunate enough to handle another bar (Serro Frio) with the Guia (lot 20189 of sale #3021 - NYINC 2013) in the same year. The paper of the Serro Frio bar has serious damage issues while this Guia is a VF with great paper quality. </p><p>Perhaps the most significant aspect of this bar is its unusually heavy weight of 90+ grams for a Sabara specimen. (Usual range is 30-40 grams). This has allowed for a strong and deep stamping of the 960 Reis c/s (which were also used in Hispanic 8 Reales at the Minas Mint). An amazing numismatic item. From The RLM Collection, Part II."</p></blockquote>

''Recorded mintage:'' unknown.

''Specification:'' gold, this specimen 90.2 grams. 

''Catalog reference:'' Fr-105. 

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* 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.
* <sup>[1]</sup>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. 

''Link to:''
* [[Brazil 1812-M 320 reis|1812-M 320 réis]]
* [[Brazil 1812-M 640 reis]]
* [[Brazil 1812-R 640 reis|1812-R 640 réis]]
* [[Brazil 1812-B 960 reis]]
* [[Brazil 1812 4000 reis|1812 4000 réis]]
* [[Brazil 1812-R 6400 reis|1812-R 6,400 réis]]
* [[Sabara 1814 gold bar Fr-105]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1812]]
* return to coins of [[Brazil]]

[[Category: Gold coins of South America]][[Category:Selections from Heritage sale 3026]]