As I mentioned in my last post, when I started collecting US gold coins I kind of overdid it in the first year. That year I purchased 32 coins, but three of them were a big mistake. I’ll tell you more about these coins some other time.  In the following years, I purchased 10, 12, 14, and 5 coins in years 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively.  Some of the reasons why my enthusiasm for collecting US gold coins tapered off are listed below:

•    I didn’t see myself being able to complete the sets I had started.
•    Many of the rare dates were unaffordable.
•    I couldn’t compete with some of the other registry collectors in these areas.
•    I got tired of collecting the same type coins where only the mint marks or dates changed.  Don’t get me wrong, the coins from different mints and different dates can have different characteristics, like color and strike, but I wanted to start collecting coins with more variety.
•    I had also wanted to collect the early US gold coins (minted before 1835), but I couldn’t afford them.  

Therefore, in 2013 I decided to change my focus to collecting coins from Brazil.  There are several things about collecting Brazilian coins that I find very appealing:

•    When compared with US coins, Brazilian coins are relatively affordable all the way back to 1663.
•    I have chosen to focus my efforts on putting together type sets for the rulers starting with D. Joao IV (1640-1656) and ending with D. Pedro II (1831-1840). Note that I list all the rulers later. 
•    When collecting US coins, I purchased multiple dates of a few types of coins. In contrast, I am now focusing on type set collecting for Brazilian coins since there are so many different types of coins, e.g., there are many different mint marks and the coins change every time there is a new ruler, and sometimes there are even multiple types of one denomination for a given ruler.
•    Like with US coin collecting, Brazilian coins with some mint marks are typically rarer than for other mint marks.
•    There are numerous Brazilian coins that are scarce or rare, and some are extremely rare.  In some cases, there are only a few known coins of a date and type.
•    Many of the Brazilian coins are un-slabbed so it can be both challenging and fun to submit the “raw” coins to NGC for grading.

Unfortunately, there are also some issues that make collecting Brazilian coins challenging:
•    Third-party grading services, like NGC and PCGS, don’t seem to be as popular with Brazilian collectors as they are with US collectors.  Therefore, one must often purchase un-slabbed coins.
•    Many Brazilian coins have issues like environmental damage, cleaning, tooling, etc.
•    There are also many contemporary counterfeit coins.
•    US auction houses (Heritage and Stack’s Bowers) sell many more expensive Brazilian gold coins, but Brazilian silver coins are encountered less often, and US auctions for copper coins are rare. 

When I started collecting Brazilian coins I focused on buying slabbed, gold coins.  Later, I started purchasing slabbed silver coins from the major US auction houses.  Next, I started buying some unslabbed gold and silver coins, which I then submitted to NGC. Copper coins were my next adventure.  Copper coins are challenging since so many of these coins have been damaged.  Finally, I started also collecting counter-stamped Brazilian coins. 

Brazil was discovered by a Portuguese expedition that was led by Pedro Álvares Cabral on April 22, 1500. Since Brazil was a Portuguese colony between 1500 and September 7, 1822, when it declared its independence, the rulers of Portugal were also de facto rulers of Brazil during this period. I collect Brazilian coins during the period of the rulers between D. Joao IV (1640-1656) and D. Pedro II (1831-1889).
 

Here is a list of the rulers of Portugal and Brazil during the period when Brazil was a colony of Portugal:

•    2nd Dynasty (1385-1580)
   o    D. Manuel I - The Venturous (1495-1521)
       -  Brazil discovered in 1500
   o    D. Joao III - The Pious (1521-1557)
   o    D. Sebastiao I - The Desire (1557-1578)
   o    D. Henrique I - The Chaste (1578-1580)
•    2nd Interregnum (1580)
   o    D. Antonio I – Prior of Crato (1580-1583)
•    3rd Dynasty (1580-1640)
   o    D. Filipe I - The Prudent (1580-1598) 
   o    D. Filipe II – The Godly (1598-1621)
   o    D. Filipe III – The Grand (1621-1640)
•    4th Dynasty (1640-1910)
   o    D. Joao IV - The Restorer (1640-1656)
   o    D. Afonso VI - The Victorious (1656-1667)
   o    D. Pedro - Prince Regent (1667-1683)
•    Mechanical Coining (1683)
   o    D. Pedro II - The Pacific (1683-1706)
   o    D. Joao V - The Magnanimous (1706-1750)
   o    D. Jose I - The Reformer (1750-1777)
   o    D. Maria I and D. Pedro III (1777-1786)
   o    D. Maria I - The Pious (1786-1799)
   o    D. Joao - Prince Regent (1799-1816)
   o    D. Joao VI – The Clement (1816-1822)
      -   Brazil’s Independence (September 7, 1822)

Here is a list of rulers of Brazil after Brazil gained its independence:

•    Empire (1822-1889)
   o    D. Pedro I (1822-1831)
   o    D. Pedro II (1831-1889)
•    Republic (1889-2014)

During the reign of these rulers, coins were produced by several mints in Brazil. Here is a list of these mints along with their mintmarks and time in operation. Note that some coins minted in Lisbon, Portugal without a mintmark also circulated in Brazil:

•    Bahia, B, BBBB, or none, 1695–1699, 1714-1831
•    Rio De Janeiro, R, RRRR or none, 1699–1700, 1703–Present 
•    Pernambuco, P or PPPP, 1700–1702
•    Vila Rica, M or MMMM, 1724–1734,1810–1816,1818-1828
•    Cuiaba, C, 1823-1830
•    Goias, G, 1823-1833
•    Sao Paulo, SP, 1825-1829, 1832

Here are my three favorite sets for Brazil:
•    Pedro, Type Set, 1695-1706, Circulation Issue, https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/463386/
•    Joao V, Type Set, 1706-1750, https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/461270/
•    Jose I, Type Set, 1750-1777, Circulation Issue, https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/468833/

Here I provide information about the 5 coins shown in the header, i.e., Ruler, date, mint, denomination, grade, NGC population (total, same grade, higher grade). Note that I chose coins for 5 different rulers.  Also note that I really like gold coins!

•    D. Pedro II, 1702-P, 4000 Reis, gold, NGC MS 62, (4,1,1)
•    D. Joao V, 1722-R, 4000 Reis, gold, PCGS 62, NGC census (13,2,4)
•    D. Jose I, 1774-B, 6400 Reis, gold, NGC MS 62, (9,1,0) Pedigree -  Eliasberg
•    D. Maria I & D. Pedro III, 1778-(L) – Lisbon Portugal mint without a mint mark, 1000 Reis gold, NGC MS 64, (5,2,0)
•    D. Maria I, 1799-(L) Lisbon without a mint mark, 5 Reis, Copper, NGC MS 64, (3,1,0)

The 1774-B, 6400 Reis holds special significance for me since it’s the coin that started my new journey down the road of collecting coins from Brazil. It’s a beautifully toned gold coin with great eye appeal and to top it off, it’s pedigreed to one of the most famous collectors of all time, i.e., Eliasberg.  What’s not to like about that? After buying this coin I was hooked.