5 Mil Réis Thesouro Nacional, 4th print

Brazil's Thesouro Nacional turned to Perkins, Bacon & Petch for this series at a time when the firm's steel-engraved intaglio work was the global benchmark for security printing — the same house had produced early stamps for Britain and several South American republics. The designation "4th print" reflects a serial reordering by collectors and cataloguers rather than any meaningful change in plate design between print runs; the distinction matters primarily for serial number ranges and paper batch differences.

Brazilian treasury notes of this period circulated alongside competing emissions from the Banco do Brasil, creating persistent public confusion over which paper instruments carried full government backing. The 1852 date places this squarely in that contested period before the 1853 banking reforms consolidated issuance authority.