Catalog
1/4 Bazaruco
| Issuer | Portuguese Colonial Administration (Ceylon) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1597-1655 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field features the Portuguese royal arms: a shield bearing five escutcheons arranged in a quincunx pattern, each containing five roundels (quinas), enclosed within a pointed shield of distinctly medieval heraldic form. The shield is surmounted by a crown rendered in low relief. The entire device is set within a beaded or rope-like border, consistent with the crude hammered fabric typical of colonial Portuguese copper coinage of Ceylon. The design is boldly struck though somewhat irregular in outline due to the hand-hammering technique. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a large armillary sphere rendered as a series of intersecting circular bands forming an X-like pattern when viewed flat, a well-known device of Portuguese imperial coinage symbolizing navigation and overseas dominion. The design is set within a circular beaded border. The strike is uneven and the flan irregular, characteristic of hammered copper bazaruco coinage produced in the Portuguese colonial mint at Colombo during the seventeenth century. No legend or inscription is present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The bazaruco was a Portuguese colonial unit derived from the Indian term bazarucos, used across Goa, Cochin, and Ceylon to denominate the lowest-value copper currency circulating among local populations. Ceylon's Portuguese administration issued these pieces during a period of sustained military pressure from the Dutch VOC, which began systematically seizing Portuguese Indian Ocean ports from the 1630s onward. Colombo itself fell to the Dutch in 1656 — one year after this type's issue window closes.