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1 Bazaruco - João III Dio mint
| Issuer | Portuguese India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1521-1557 |
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| Currency | Pardau (1509-1580) |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a large Gothic letter Y, the royal cypher of King João III of Portugal, rendered in a bold, angular style characteristic of hammered colonial coinage. The monogram is set within a plain, unadorned field on an irregularly shaped copper flan. The design is crude yet deliberate, reflecting the utilitarian nature of bazaruco coinage struck for circulation in Portuguese India. No surrounding legend is present, the entire composition centering on the royal initial as the primary device. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
João III inherited Goa and its satellite mints from his father Manuel I, but it was under his reign that the Diu mint — seized after the Portuguese victory at the Second Battle of Diu in 1538 — began producing copper bazarucos for local trade circulation. The bazaruco was a denomination with no equivalent back in Lisbon; it existed purely to function within Indian market economies where small copper coinage was the medium of everyday transaction.
Diu mint output from this reign is notably inconsistent in fabric, a consequence of relying on local craftsmen and variable copper supply rather than metropolitan standards.