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1 Pardau S. Tomé - João III Lisboa mint
| Issuer | Casa da Moeda de Lisboa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1521-1557 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KM#4, Gomes#J3 12 |
| Obverse description | The crowned royal arms of Portugal centered in the field, displaying the characteristic quinas (five escutcheons arranged in a cross, each charged with five bezants) surmounted by an ornate crown with floral finials. The shield is flanked by the initial 'I' (for Joannes) to the left and a series of pellets to the right, with additional decorative elements at the sides. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded inner circle and an outer beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
João III authorized a dedicated coinage for São Tomé e Príncipe as the islands were transitioning from uninhabited Portuguese discovery to the primary trans-shipment hub for enslaved Africans crossing the Atlantic — a trade that generated enough revenue to warrant its own monetary infrastructure. The pardau denomination itself was borrowed from the Indo-Portuguese monetary vocabulary, reflecting how Lisbon was simultaneously managing commercial systems across three separate ocean basins.
The Lisboa mint's production for overseas territories in this period was often irregular, with dies dispatched to colonial mints or pieces struck in Lisbon for direct shipment. Gomes records only a handful of die combinations for this type.