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1 Soldo - Manuel I
| Issuer | Portuguese Malacca |
|---|---|
| Year | 1511-1521 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.7 g |
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| Obverse description | Central device of a Portuguese armillary sphere rendered in low relief, depicted with intersecting rings representing the celestial equator, ecliptic, and meridian circles, characteristic of the royal emblem adopted by King Manuel I. The sphere is shown in a stylized, somewhat flat treatment consistent with the crude hammered technique employed for this base-metal colonial issue. No legend surrounds the device, with the design occupying nearly the entire coin field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1511-1521) - E1 15.01 - ND (1511-1521) - E1 15.02 (Inverted N, as per pict.) - |
| Additional information |
Malacca fell to Afonso de Albuquerque in July 1511, and within months the Portuguese were operating the mint that the Sultanate itself had run — retooling local infrastructure rather than importing European minting practice wholesale. The soldo issued under Manuel I was struck in calin, the tin-lead alloy that had been the monetary material of Southeast Asian petty commerce long before any Portuguese ship entered the Strait. Using it was a deliberate concession to local market expectations, not a metallurgical compromise.
Gomes E1 15.0x places this among the earliest Portuguese colonial issues anywhere in Asia.