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450 Réis - 12 Vinténs of gold Royal Gold Foundry Houses, 1st. Print
| Issuer | Reaes Casas de Fundição do Ouro da Capitania de Minas Geraes |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed in black on white paper, the face carries the numerical denomination at the top centre, flanked on either side by a small typographic vignette. The remaining surface is occupied by multi-line text in period Portuguese script setting out the issuing authority, denomination in words, and equivalent value in réis. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Completely unprinted; the plain white paper is left blank on the reverse, consistent with the rudimentary production methods employed by the Casas da Fundição issue of 1808. |
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| Comments |
These notes were issued by the Casa de Fundição Real in Minas Gerais as a local substitute for coined gold during a period of acute metal scarcity in the captaincy. The 450 Réis denomination corresponds to 12 vinténs, a unit of account deeply embedded in everyday colonial commerce — the fractional phrasing on the note itself signals it was designed for ordinary market transactions, not treasury operations.
1808 is the year the Portuguese court fled to Brazil, and the resulting administrative upheaval accelerated demand for emergency fiduciary instruments in the mining regions. Francisco Antônio da Silva's engraving work on this series is among the earliest documented examples of professional intaglio plate work executed within Brazil rather than contracted to European printers.