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1 Mil Réis Thesouro Nacional, Copper exchange note
| Issuer | Imperio do Brasil |
|---|---|
| Year | 1833 |
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| Value | 1000 Réis |
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| Obverse description | Black lithograph on white paper. The Imperial Arms of Brazil appear at the left, surmounting a caption referencing Law no. 52 of October 3, 1833. The face value of 1$000 (Hum Mil Réis) is repeated in a border arrangement surrounding the central text block, which specifies that the note is to be accepted as currency at Public Stations of the named Province; the Province name and serial number are left blank for handwritten completion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse bearing handwritten manuscript entries applied in ink after issue: the province name 'Parahina' written vertically at the left margin, a handwritten serial number in the upper right, and two manuscript authorization signatures across the centre, consistent with contemporary practice for these provincial copper-exchange cédulas. |
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| Comments |
Brazil's Thesouro Nacional began issuing copper exchange notes (notas de cobre) in 1833 as a direct response to a chronic shortage of small-denomination copper coinage in the northeastern provinces. The notes were explicitly redeemable in copper coin — not silver, not gold — a distinction that mattered considerably to the poor and working populations who actually handled them. Copper itself was depreciating, which made the exchange promise increasingly hollow as the decade wore on.
Among the earliest paper instruments issued under the Brazilian Empire, predating the establishment of the Banco do Brasil's second charter by several years. The watermark security was rudimentary by contemporary European standards, and counterfeiting of the copper note series was reported almost immediately after issue.