BRAZIL, Empire. Pedro II, 1831-1889. Medal 1877 (Bronze, 28 mm, 10.40 g, 11 h), on his visit to Berlin, uncertain mint, presumably Brussels. PETRUS II D.G.C.IMP. - ET PERP.BRAS.DEF. Bare head of Pedro II to left; below, star. Rev. ZUR ERINNERUNG / AN DEN / BESUCH / DES / KAISERS / PETER II / VON / BRASILIEN / IN BERLIN 1877 in nine lines. Fonrobert -. Wurzbach -. A very rare, fresh and lustrous specimen. In NGC encaspulation, graded MS 64. Top Pop. Good extremely fine.


This interesting medal was struck in connection with the second world tour of the adventurous Emperor Pedro II. As part of this journey, he visited Germany from March 1876 to September 1877. The highlight of his stay was his visit to Berlin, which Pedro II -widely regarded as exceptionally progressive - primarily used to examine German achievements in medicine, the natural sciences, and industry.

To this day, nothing further is known about the precise circumstances surrounding the striking of this medal. The obverse die, however, is identical to that used for the medals struck on the occasion of the Emperor’s visits to Brussels (1871) and Porto (1872) (cf. Sedwick 23, May 15 2018, 1483). In addition, pattern strikes of Brazilian coins produced in Brussels are known that employ the same obverse die (cf. Album 45, January 26, 2023, lot 1632).