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1 Bastardo - Manuel I 1st issue
| Issuer | Portuguese Malacca |
|---|---|
| Year | 1511 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Gomes#E1 20.01, Gomes#E1 20.02 |
| Obverse description | Central device of an armillary sphere, the personal emblem of King Manuel I of Portugal, rendered in low relief on a plain field. The design is characteristically crude, reflecting the primitive local striking conditions at Malacca. A Latin legend surrounds the central device, reading partially as the royal titulature of the Portuguese sovereign. The flan is irregular and the strike uneven, typical of hammered tin coinage produced in the colonial Southeast Asian context. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ºDMPR DE PV SOR DIE MALA |
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| Additional information |
Malacca fell to Afonso de Albuquerque in July 1511, and within months the Portuguese were already striking local coinage — a remarkable logistical feat that reflects just how deliberately the Estado da India moved to absorb existing trade infrastructure. The bastardo denomination was inherited directly from the Sultanate's own monetary system, retaining familiar weight standards to ease acceptance among local merchants who had no particular reason to trust the new rulers.
Tin was the obvious choice: the Malay peninsula was among the world's most productive sources, and the Sultanate had worked the metal for generations before the Portuguese arrived.