1724 Brazil 640 Réis

The 1724 640 Réis was struck using silver from Brazil's Minas Gerais mines, a bold move that highlighted the colony's growing mineral wealth during Portuguese rule.

That silver came from ores extracted amid the rush of the early 18th century, when Brazil's deposits were reshaping Atlantic trade. The coin itself bears the standard design: a crowned coat of arms on one side, a cross on the other, with the date squeezed into the legend. Minting occurred in Bahia, though records from that era are spotty; we know production ramped up after 1720, but exact figures vanished in colonial archives long ago.

Wear on these coins often reveals their hard life in circulation, from ship holds to frontier markets. As for myths, I've heard tales of buried treasures, but that's just romantic nonsense—most ended up as everyday money.

Exact weights varied slightly, a common flaw in colonial striking.