 |
| Colonial Coins of Brazil |
 |
| Colonial coinage of Brazil one Dobra or 12800 Reis |
Material: 0.9170 Gold 0.8455 oz
Weight: 28.6800 g
Diameter: 38 mm
Dobra. A gold coin of Portugal which was first issued in the reign of Pedro I (1357-1367) and equal to 82 Soldi.
At the beginning of the reign of John V (1706-1750) appeared the Dobra de oito Escudos, and the Dobra de quatro Escudos, valued respectively at eight and four Escudos, or 12,800 and 6400 Reis. The former coin was commonly known as the Joannes, and in the British West Indies, where they circulated extensively, this was abbreviated into Joe, the latter coin being called the half Joe. The striking of these coins ceased by virtue of a Portuguese proclamation of November 29, 1732. They gradually disappeared from circulation, and in time the half Dobras were improperly alluded to in some places as Joes instead of half Joes.
It should be added that in 1731 a Dobra of twenty-four and another of sixteen Escudos were struck. These large gold coins are illustrated by Aragao (pi. xli. 23, 24) and described by Meili.
In 1750, the Dobra, now rcduced to four Escudos, or 6400 Rois. received the name of Peca, and this designation continued until its abolition early in the nineteenth century.
John V of Portugal
John V (João V, 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was born in Lisbon and succeeded his father Peter II in December 1706, and was proclaimed on 1 January 1707.
His father had long suffered from lack of heirs, and the relatively new royal house of Braganza was indeed on the verge of going extinct—the king had only one surviving (though sickly) daughter from his first marriage, John's half-sister Isabel Luisa, Princess of Beira. However, after the death of his first wife, the old king remarried, and John's mother was able to produce eight more children, including John himself. When John was born, he became Prince of Brazil as the king's heir apparent, as well as the 11th Duke of Braganza.