1 Bastardo - Manuel I 1st issue

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.