João VI gold 4000 Reis 1819-(B) MS63 NGC, Bahia mint, KM327.3, LMB-580, Gomes-28.01 (Rare), Bentes-436.01 (R3). Mintage: 1,864. 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.

HID09801242017

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