102

Brazil (Minas mint), 20,000 reis, Joao V, 1726-M, encapsulated NGC MS 63.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Gold Start Price:8,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
Brazil (Minas mint), 20,000 reis, Joao V, 1726-M, encapsulated NGC MS 63.
SOLD
Sign In To View Winning Bid
This item SOLD at 2012 Oct 31 @ 12:58UTC-4 : AST/EDT
All items are genuine unless noted. Most shipwreck coins and artifacts come with a certificate of authenticity (please check the description for each item). By bidding in this auction you understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions posted here.
Brazil (Minas mint), 20,000 reis, Joao V, 1726-M, encapsulated NGC MS 63. KM-117. To the Portuguese, Brazil was no more than a strategically placed colony until the 1690s, when large deposits of gold were found in the inland area of Minas Gerais, triggering a rush of exploration and development known to history as the Gold Circuit. Before long the area became heavily populated and graced with both a tax-collection office (at Tambate in 1694) and a Royal mint (at Minas in 1724). In the 1720s this mint produced the largest gold coin of its time: the 53.5-gram dobrao (20,000 reis), a single specimen of which could buy many acres of land in its day. The coin on offer here is a lovely example of the impressive Minas dobrao, with gorgeous mint luster and bold details, certainly among the finest known of the 4-year type. The obverse legend reads IOANNES * V * D * G * PORT * ET * ALG * REX around the crowned Portuguese arms, with IN HOC SIGNO VINCES on the reverse around a cross with florets in the angles. Only two specimens were graded higher by NGC--the Eliasberg specimen at MS 65 and one other at MS 64--but we feel that this MS 63 shows details that the higher-Mint State coins lack, like better globes inside the small shields in the center, due to superior die quality. In any grade, however, the dobrao is clearly one of the most important gold coins of Latin America.