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Gold Bar - João VI Casa de Fundição de Sabará
| Issuer | Casa de Fundição de Sabará |
|---|---|
| Year | 1817-1819 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 75 000 Réis (75 000) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Irregularly cast rectangular gold bar bearing multiple applied stampings across its upper face. At the left end, an oval cartouche stamp depicts the crowned Royal Arms of Portugal surmounted by a royal crown, with the letters 'S' and 'A' flanking the crown, identifying the Casa de Fundição de Sabará. To the right, large incuse numerals read 'N 1475' (the bar's serial number), followed by the date '1818' within a rectangular cartouche. A further stamped cartouche reads 'TOQUE 22', denoting the fineness assay, while the weight notation '5 [oitavas] 2 [oitavas] 24' is struck in successive cartouches, recording the bar's precise weight in the Portuguese oitava system. At the far right, a monogram stamp, likely that of the assayer or superintendent (JPP), appears within an oval punch. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Casa de Fundição de Sabará was one of several Brazilian smelting houses established under Portuguese colonial administration to process raw gold from the Minas Gerais interior before export. During João VI's reign — he governed Brazil first as prince regent, then as king after his 1816 accession — these houses stamped bars as a fiscal control measure, with royal assay marks certifying purity and weight before the gold could legally move. The narrow 1817–1819 window for this issue reflects genuine production constraints rather than a short reign; output dropped sharply as alluvial deposits in the region entered serious decline.
Sabará bars from this period are among the scarcest of the João VI foundry issues.