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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 8227787, member: 110226&quot;]Some coins seem to have been created to immediately catch the eye, to command center stage by their sheer magnitude.&nbsp; This is one such coin, which was clearly not intended for everyday use.&nbsp; To the contrary, its creation is a product of the time in Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil, where gold was being extracted in the rivers, streams and fields in unprecedented amounts in the 1720s.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1446026[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Lisbon and the Tagus River, 1572</p><p><br /></p><p>In terms of natural resources, Brazil was gold rich and silver poor.&nbsp; Gold poured out of Portugal&#039;s colony as a virtual river to Lisbon, much the same way silver and gold flowed to Spain from her colonies to Seville, Vigo and beyond.&nbsp; The gold and silver from the New World played a large part in financing the economic growth and power of Europe, filling the coffers not only of Spain and Portugal, but also the coffers of governments and banks in the United Provinces, France, Belgium, England and Italy throughout the 17&#039;th and 18&#039;th centuries.&nbsp; By the 19&#039;th century the flow continued with gold and silver from the newly independent Latin American republics.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1446025[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The town of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil, an UNSECO Historical Center</p><p><br /></p><p>The gold rush in Minas Gerais started in the 1690s, when gold was discovered on the Cuiaba River and surrounding fields, creating the gold producing area and town of Ouro Preto (Portuguese for black gold).&nbsp;&nbsp; This was a significant discovery, resulting in 800 metric tons of gold sent from Minas Gerais to Portugal in the 18th century.</p><p><br /></p><p>As with any exploitation of mineral resources in these times, African slaves were used to dig and pan the gold bearing sands in mosquito-infested fields.&nbsp; There was also conflict between the miners and local indigenous people, notably the Payagua.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1446024[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>African slaves panning for gold late 18th - early 19th century, Brazil</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin came to me by way of World-Wide Coins of California, from the November 1992 auction.&nbsp; As a longtime resident of the collection, it is by far the largest and heaviest gold coin, coming in at 53.50 grams, with a fineness of 0.9170.&nbsp; Minas Gerais minted gold coins in denominations of 2,000, 4,000, 10,000 and 20,000 reis from 1724 to 1727.</p><p><br /></p><p>Brazil, 1727</p><p>20,000 reis</p><p>Joao V</p><p>Minas Gerais</p><p>Obverse:&nbsp; IOANNES • V • D • G • PORT • ET • ALG • REX, central crowned shield of Portugal, vertical 20000 left, five vertical florets right.</p><p>Reverse:&nbsp; IN HOC SIGNO VINCES, central Portuguese cross with four M&#039;s in quadrants, date above.</p><p>KM 117; FR 3; Gomes-38.04; Russo-251.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1446014[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So, please post your gold coins, or any other coins, and of course your comments!</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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