Description A Classic Issue of Dutch Colonial Brazil Pernambuco. Geoctroyeede West-Indische Compagnie (GWC) gold 6 Guilders (Florins) 1646 MS62 NGC, KM6.3, Fr-2. Diagonal strike on both the obverse and reverse. The strike is crude, as with all the Pernambuco gold issues, but all of the legends, denomination, and date are full and bold. Extremely rare, and a nice Mint State example of this elusive series. In an earlier auction, when offering the Pernambuco gold coins, we wrote:



The important fact is that coins struck in Brazil were not legal tender in Holland, and any coins coming back to Europe had to be exchanged for Dutch Guilders, (and this is why the Brazilian issue was referred to as the Brazilian Ducat) and subsequently were melted. In the colony, any Portuguese or Brazilian found with a Dutch coin ran the risk of being considered a traitor, and hanged. So any coins staying behind in Brazil would have been melted after 1654 when the Dutch were finally ousted from South America. The fact is that very few coins remain of both dates, and all three denominations. Our best estimate would be around 50-60 pieces, all together, and a number in museum collections.









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