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 Mil Réis Thesouro Nacional, 1st print
| Issuer | Thesouro Nacional |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#A205 |
| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed in black on white paper, the note is framed by a finely engraved border with the denomination numeral 20 and the word VINTE repeated in the top and bottom margins. At upper left, the Arms of the Brazilian Empire appear within an oval vignette, while at upper center an allegorical group of two female figures representing Justice is rendered in intaglio. A large guilloche underprint of the numeral 20 occupies the center of the note, with the payment text and reference to the Decree of June 1, 1833 inscribed below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blank, unprinted. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Brazil's National Treasury turned to Perkins, Bacon & Petch at a moment when the London firm's intaglio security printing — developed largely through Jacob Perkins's steel engraving innovations — was considered the hardest to counterfeit in the world. The same technology had already been applied to early U.S. banknotes and British penny black stamps. For a young imperial government struggling with monetary credibility, the choice was deliberate.
This is the first print of the series, distinguishable from later emissions by subtle plate details that specialists have catalogued but which were invisible to ordinary users at the time — which was entirely the point.