Catalog
40 Réis - Pedro II Rio de Janeiro Mint
| Issuer | Portuguese Crown |
|---|---|
| Year | 1699 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Reverse description | The central device presents the armillary sphere rendered in a stylised, somewhat primitive fashion characteristic of colonial Brazilian coinage of the late seventeenth century, its bands and rings clearly articulated across the flan. The sphere is flanked by decorative elements and enclosed within the circular Latin motto SVBQ. SIGN. NATA. STAB., meaning 'Born under a steady sign,' a dynastic device associated with the House of Braganza. The legend is distributed around the full circumference of the coin, separated by punctuation stops. The milled border frames the entire reverse design. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
By 1699, Brazil's colonial mint at Rio de Janeiro was operating under chronic pressure — silver from the interior was inconsistently supplied, and the Crown's demand for fractional coinage to service small transactions in the captaincies outpaced what the mint could reliably produce. Pedro II had already weathered the disruptive Restoration wars and the economic strains of rebuilding Portuguese trade networks, and his colonial mints were expected to compensate for shortfalls the Lisbon establishment could not cover.
The Bentes reference range 91.01–91.04 reflects documented die variations across this single year's production — an unusually wide spread for such a small fractional piece.