Production, supply and circulation of national gold coins in Brazil (1703-1807)

Abstract

In this paper, we assess the production, supply, and circulation of national gold coins in Brazil in the eighteenth century. New estimates have been provided of the volume of production of these gold coins at Mints of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Minas Gerais. Comparing the values of this coinage with remittances to Lisbon, the first half of the eighteenth century reveals a more stable conjuncture than the second half. This latter period shows fluctuations that were expressed in the faster growth of the supply, despite the fall that took place in the production-coinage of gold. Our conclusions question the historiographical theses about the shortage of currency in Brazil throughout the Eighteenth Century. The growth of the economy from the last quarter of the Century onwards implied an increase in the demand for money, which may explain the increase in the supply of national gold coins.