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Bastardo - Manuel I 2nd issue
| Issuer | Portuguese Malacca |
|---|---|
| Year | 1512-1515 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field displays a plain Latin cross with equal arms, dividing the field into four quadrants, struck in low relief on the irregular tin-lead flan. The cross is rendered simply without additional ornamentation, reflecting the utilitarian nature of this colonial circulation issue. A circular Latin legend surrounds the cross within a beaded border, reading +CRVX.XPI.NOSTRE.SPES.UNICA, translating as 'The cross of Christ, our only hope,' a standard Christological invocation employed on Portuguese colonial coinage of the Manueline period. The lettering is uneven and partially legible, consistent with hammered production in the Malacca mint. |
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| Reverse lettering | +CRVX.XPI.NOSTRE.SPES.UNICA (Translation: Christ`s cross, our only hope.) |
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| Additional information |
Malacca fell to Afonso de Albuquerque in July 1511, and Portuguese colonial coinage followed almost immediately — the bastardo was among the first issues struck under Crown authority in Southeast Asia. Production relied entirely on local calin, the tin-lead alloy already in wide circulation across the Malay world, a pragmatic concession to regional monetary practice rather than any attempt to impose Lisbon's metallurgical standards.
The second issue, catalogued by Gomes as E1 21.01, is distinguished from the first by subtle die differences that specialists have documented but that remain difficult to confirm on worn examples — and worn they almost always are, given the softness of the alloy.