Gold Ingots as Legal Tender in Brazil
For a period in the colonial history of Brazil, in addition to coins, gold ingots and bars circulated as legal tender. Legislation was passed to control the circulation of powder gold and to tax it at regional Foundries that were initially established in the 1770's. As the ingots were produced, it received marks that would identify the foundry, year, sequential production number, the assayer's monogram, the finess of the gold, and the weight. This way, the ingot was approved to circulate as coin in the amount defined in the "Guia", or respective certificate. In time, bars and ingots were taken out of circulation and the vast majority of bars melted and their respective Guias lost...
Source: coins.ha.com