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1 Xerafim - João V D-O, Dio mint, inverted D
| Issuer | Portuguese India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1732-1739 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the Coat of Arms of Diu, depicted as a crowned shield quartered with roundels arranged in the Portuguese quinas pattern, set within a plain border. The mint letters D and O flank the shield to left and right respectively, with the D appearing in inverted orientation — a distinctive die characteristic of this issue. The crown surmounting the shield is rendered in a bold, somewhat rustic hammered style consistent with colonial Portuguese coinage of the early eighteenth century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | D-O |
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| Additional information |
The Xerafim was the principal silver denomination of Portuguese India, its name derived from the Arabic ashrafi — a linguistic trace of the trade networks Portugal muscled into after seizing Goa in 1510. João V's issues from the Diu mint are distinguished from their Goa counterparts by subtle die characteristics, and this piece carries the inverted D mintmark variety catalogued by Gomes, a known die anomaly rather than a deliberate variation. Diu had been under Portuguese control since 1535, secured after a coalition of Ottoman and Gujarati forces failed to dislodge them in the first Siege of Diu.