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5 Mil Reis
| Issuer | Thesouro Nacional |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#A261 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black with red serial number, centred on an intaglio oval vignette of Emperor Pedro II in three-quarter portrait, framed by elaborate guilloche work and the inscription CINCO MIL REIS / VALOR RECEBIDO beneath. To the left, a pastoral vignette of a female harvester at labour; to the right, a shepherd at rest with his flock, both rendered in fine engraving against a lightly ruled underprint. The heading IMPERIO DO BRAZIL spans the upper centre, flanked by large numeral 5 cornerpieces, with the issuer legend NO THESOURO NACIONAL across the upper field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | IMPERIO DO BRAZIL 5 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY NEW YORK |
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| Comments |
The Thesouro Nacional's reliance on the American Bank Note Company for this series reflects Brazil's chronic shortage of domestic printing infrastructure in the 1880s — a period when the empire was financing abolition payments to slaveholders and managing severe fiscal strain simultaneously. ABNC held the Brazilian treasury contract for decades, and the consistency of their intaglio work across successive issues created a de facto visual standard for imperial paper currency.
The "A" prefix in the Pick reference signals an addendum listing, meaning this note was catalogued after the main Brazil sequence was already established — a common fate for earlier imperial issues that took time to surface in sufficient numbers for systematic documentation.