By Neil Shafer, Bank Note Reporter December 22, 2009

Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world. With such a vast territory, it is not hard to imagine that at certain times, one region or another may encounter some kind of local stringency in business, commercial or political activities that might create a temporary shortage of circulating coins and notes. Evidence supporting this theory is seen in the local and privately issued paper money. A large number have surfaced over the years, but there does not appear to have been any concerted effort to categorize or otherwise study their patterns of issue, except for a single instance many years ago.

The one book that made any headway along these lines is a large and very rare volume by Julio Meili, titled O Meio Circulante do Brazil, Parte III, A Moeda Fiduciaria no Brazil. This third volume in his series was published in 1903, and it attempted to cover the earlier regular as well as private paper money issues from 1771 to 1900.

From an analysis of the information presented in this book, it appears to be exhaustive with respect to government and bank issues of the period represented. Illustrations of a number of large-size notes are in full color, a most unusual feature for such an early publication. In fact, some years ago I saw some that I knew were obviously removed from one of the books offered for sale by themselves.

The local and private issues present a much different story. Of course, you have to realize that they are much more difficult to catalog since in many instances there are no records available for research. Meili has done a wonderful job of gathering information and examples of state, municipal and business issues to include and illustrate for his extensive listing. As you go through the book, one fact becomes clear—that most of these kinds of notes were issued in the 1890s. To be sure, there are a number of exceptions, but for a great many their decade was the 1890s.

It is one thing simply to acknowledge the existence of such pieces, but quite another to try to figure out possible causes for their need. Meili made no such effort, allowing the various issues to speak for themselves. I looked over his listings and illustrations, and also studied the various notes at hand, trying to find some sort of pattern to their issuance.

After perusing a number of sites on the Internet I have found that the history of Brazil’s early years as a republic, those from 1889 through the decade of the 1890s, were tumultuous, politically extremely unstable, and sprinkled with smaller as well as more significant revolts.

At the inception of the republic, gained through a coup d’état by the army, the new government expenditures were exceeding revenues (so what else is new?), and more notes were being printed to help “balance the budget.” Severe economic instability of the 1890s put great pressure on wage earners in urban areas, contributing to the general unrest of the period. All these facts begin to explain why so many local issues are dated in the 1890s.

In the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, The Federalistas under the leadership of a former high official in the empire, Gaspar da Silveira Martins, presented a major challenge to Julio de Castilhos, leader of the province and a presidential appointee. The anti-republican monarchical feeling grew so strong that it finally caused the eruption of a full-scale revolt in 1893, adding to the chaos already a part of everyday life in that province.

While other areas of Brazil were also undergoing a certain amount of financial insecurity, none came close to the situation in Rio Grande do Sul. This fact is borne out by a simple tabulation of the amounts of known local issues from the same approximate period emanating from the different states. Those from Rio Grande do Sul far outnumber any of the others, both in Meili as well as those notes personally examined. From what I was able to glean from the book and notes, this total is at least 50 or more different issues. This figure does not take into account any others that may surface in the future—and there will always be some of those at some time. The next closest amount comes from Minas Gerais, as the illustrations of larger size private issues appear to show.

While many of the private and local notes shown in the Meili reference appear to be well preserved for the most part, even though the book was a 1903 product and notes were only a few years old, there are a surprising number of the small town issues that are very well worn, with some basically in tatters. What this fact shows is that there was simply no saving of any such notes; Meili was lucky to locate as many as he did. And true to form for any dedicated collector and researcher, he used whatever pieces he could find for illustration, even if they were truly ugly as some of them really are. He knew that the chances of securing clearer or less worn examples were slim to none—and that’s exactly how it is when you are trying to collect issues such as these. Every one of them is a true miracle of survival, especially considering the climate, financial stress, and the absolute need by the population to use whatever money was available and not try to save it for any reason whatsoever.

You might well ask why I place so much emphasis on the collecting and researching of such notes as these, and basically from everyplace. It is simply because they represent the true money of the people. It was issues like these that kept commerce alive in many localities, and not the government emissions. If you look only at the regular issues of the late empire and early republic, you cannot get even an inkling of the unrest seething in some parts of the country. It all looks so normal and undisturbed, but those of us who know anything about how the people were living, and their interests and concerns as indicated by their notes of necessity, have a much different realization.

The illustrations for this article constitute just a small sampling of these intriguing and rare notes. A number of them will also be found in Meili; for those I have indicated the catalog number. I am also including a sampling of the issues that are not a part of that incredible reference. Such is not surprising in the slightest. In fact, what is surprising is that he could list and illustrate as many as he did.

The whole field of world private and local currencies is becoming increasingly significant as more and more collectors begin to gain a true understanding of their importance, both numismatically and as pieces of social and economic history. Some new references dealing with such issues have appeared, and the true rarity of so many of these notes is just now beginning to be perceived.



More Resources:

• 2010 U.S. Coin Digest, The Complete Guide to Current Market Values, 8th ed.

• State Quarters Deluxe Folder By Warmans

• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 to Date

• Strike It Rich with Pocket Change, 2nd Edition