1 Xerafim - João V D-O, Dio mint, inverted D

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.