500 Réis - Pedro II

Brazil's silver coinage of this period was minted primarily at the Casa da Moeda in Rio de Janeiro, though the 1853 issues saw production at the Ouro Preto facility during the transition of mint operations. Pedro II's government used these coins to stabilize a money supply perpetually undermined by the parallel circulation of foreign silver and debased copper fractionals — a chronic problem that plagued the Brazilian monetary system throughout the mid-nineteenth century.

The .917 fineness was deliberately set above the 800–833 standard common to contemporary Latin American issues, partly to encourage acceptance in international trade along the Rio de la Plata corridor.