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1 Xerafim - João IV Goa mint to Dio
| Issuer | Portuguese India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1653-1657 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | The Portuguese royal coat of arms, surmounted by a crowned shield displaying the traditional quinas (five escutcheons in cross arrangement), is centrally positioned within the field. The mint marks A and D flank the shield to the left and right respectively, indicating the Goa mint destined for Diu. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded or pellet border that runs along the full circumference of the coin, characteristic of hammered Portuguese colonial coinage of the mid-seventeenth century. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
João IV's reign saw Portuguese India in serious difficulty — the Estado da India was hemorrhaging territory to the Dutch VOC throughout the 1640s and 1650s, and the xerafim issues of this period reflect an administration scrambling to maintain monetary credibility across shrinking coastal enclaves. This particular piece carries the Goa mint attribution but was struck for circulation at Diu, a garrison port whose strategic value the Portuguese clung to long after more profitable possessions had fallen.
The xerafim as a denomination had roots in the earlier cruzado system adapted for Indian trade, its name likely derived from the Arabic "ashrafi." Gomes J4 27 is among the less frequently encountered João IV types in collectible grades, owing partly to the disrupted minting conditions of the mid-1650s.