Buy the coin and get the story. Portugal Peca 5600 Reis 1750-R (Rio de Janiero mint) Size: 32mm Weight: 14.30gm (approx) Gold: 0.4215oz (917 fine) The coin was also known as a "Joe" or "Half-Joe" because the king on the coin was Johannes, Latin for John. These coins circulated around the world, including the the American colonies, and appear in almanacs, including Ben Franklin's. I do not own many slabbed coins but this one tells a story along with the grade. Robert Clive (1725-1774), "Clive Of India", was a British officer credited with establishing the supremacy of Great Britain over India. After his successful military, diplomatic and economic ventures on behalf of the Crown in India, Clive returned to London. In 1755, he had to travel to India and sent his money, around £3000, ahead, in the form of Portuguse gold Peca coins, an international currency at the time. The money was put on the "Doddington", and Clive left on another slower ship. The ships left England in April 1755, and near South Africa, the Doddington managed to wreck on the Chaos Islands of Algoa Bay, now known as Bird Island. A few crew members survived, and after several months, were able to build a boat, sail to Mozambique, and be rescued. In 1977, professional treasure hunter divers found the wreck and the gold, and claimed it had been found on a ship in international waters, possibly a pirate ship. The South African government claimed that the gold came from the Doddington, located in their waters, and after years of legal action, South Africa got 1/3 of the treasure, and the finders got the rest. The coins were sold through auction houses in 2000, there were 830 coins, minted between 1727 and 1754. The coin that I have is dated 1750, minted in Rio de Janiero, and graded by NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) as "1750R Brazil 6400R / UNC Details / Environmental Damage / Clive of India Treasure" In 1774 Clive was offered the command of all British forces in North America, but he declined the offer and then killed himself either with a penknife or opium.
