Description
Portuguese Empire, John V ‘o Rei-Sol Português’ of the House of Braganza, King of Portugal 1706-1750 AD, Gold Onça or Dobra of 12,800 Réis (28.58g, 37mm), 1732 M, Minas Gerais (Vila Rica) mint. Obverse: Laureate head of King John V facing to the right, date and mintmark below, legend surrounds, “IOANNES. V. D.G. PORT. ET. ALG. REX”. Reverse: Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Portugal (alternative version by João Frederico Ludovice 1744). KM-139; Fr-55. Slight weakness of strike over Portuguese shield and very minor marks, otherwise most typically bold with an impressive portrait, a commendable example of the peak of Australian Proclamation coinage, Extremely Fine.
The Obverse Latin legend reads “Iōannēs quīntus, Deī Grātiā, Portucalis et Algarviae Rēx”, which has an English translation of “John the Fifth, by the Grace of God, King of Portugal and Algarve”.
The gold Dobra of the Portuguese Empire, struck to a weight of an ‘Onça’ which was 28.68 g of 22-karat and valued at 12,800 Réis, is a coin issued during the Brazilian Gold rush and is often referred to as a ‘Johanna’, in reference to the ‘Joannese’ series of coins between 1722-1835 that proceeded the ‘moeda d’ouro’ series. Although a Portuguese coin, due to its recognizability and high degree of circulation, the Dobra had a face value of 3 pounds 12 shillings within the Great Britain, and was one of the monetary denominations chosen by the Australian Proclamation of 1800 by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales. In order to retain coinage within the Australian colony, each ‘Proclamation coin’ was given a high face value – the Johanna was revalued to Four Pounds, 8 shillings higher then when used within England.