Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Réis - João VI Bahia mint
| Issuer | Casa da Moeda da Bahia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1819 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | At center, the numeral '20' surmounted by a royal crown, all enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The date appears within the beaded circle below the denomination. The outer legend runs along the coin's periphery. The overall design is typical of early nineteenth-century Portuguese colonial copper coinage, with bold numerals and crown rendered in moderate relief. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
João VI issued this copper coinage for Brazil while still governing from Rio de Janeiro — having fled Lisbon ahead of Napoleon's invasion in 1807 and elevated Brazil to the status of a kingdom in 1815. The Bahia mint had a long and turbulent history of producing copper for local circulation, often struggling with chronic shortages of planchet stock and inconsistent striking conditions. Small-denomination copper from this period circulated hard in the Brazilian northeast, where silver was scarce and the population depended on these coins for daily transactions.
João returned to Portugal in 1821, leaving his son Pedro behind — a decision that ended, within a year, with Brazilian independence.