Description
Portuguese Empire, State of Brazil, Maria I of the House of Braganza, Queen of Portugal 1777-1816 AD, Gold Peça of 6400 Réis (14.27g, 31mm), 1792 B, Salvador mint, Captaincy of Bahia. Obverse: Veiled and draped bust of Queen Maria I facing to the right, date and mintmark below, legend surrounds, “MARIA· I· D·G· PORT· ET· ALG· REGINA”. Reverse: Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Portugal. KM-226.2; Bentes-280.04. A few light contact marks either side, visually attractive otherwise, near Extremely Fine.
The obverse Latin legend is the royal titulature of Dona Maria I, reading unabridged as “Marīa prīmus, Deī grātiā, Portucale et Algarve rēgīna”, with an English translation of “Maria the first, by the Grace of God, Queen of Portugal and Algarve”.
The gold Peça of the Portuguese Empire was a gold monetary piece with a face value of 6,400 Réis and was struck to a weight of half an ‘Onça’ – an Onça weighed 28.68 grams and therefore a Peça 14.34 grams, and they were often called ‘4 escudos’ due to the similiarities with the Spanish contemporary. These Peças were issued during the Brazilian Gold rush of the 18th and early 19th centuries and are often referred to as a ‘Half Johanna’ as the larger denomination, the Dobra of 12,800 Réis, was dubbed the ‘Johanna’ due to it being the largest circulating coin of the ‘Joannese’ numismatic series named after King John V – this series was issued between 1722 and 1835 AD. The Joannese series is a note worthing evolution from the previous ‘moeda d’ouro’ series which did not feature a monarch’s portrait. Although a Portuguese coin, these pieces circulated heavily throughout the world, especially into England, and the Peça was officially assigned a face value of 1 pound 16 shillings. Also, in 1800 AD, it became the second largest value monetary denomination chosen by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales, for the ’Australian Proclamation’, Australia’s first monetary system. In order to retain coinage within the Australian colony, each ‘Proclamation coin’ was given a high face value – the Peça was revalued to Two Pounds, 4 shillings higher then when used within England.
