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Bazaruco
| Issuer | Portuguese Colonial Administration of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1597-1655 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned Portuguese royal arms rendered in a crude, stylized manner characteristic of colonial hammered coinage. The shield bearing the royal coat of arms is depicted centrally within the coin's field, surrounded by an irregular raised border. The design reflects the simplified engraving typical of Portuguese colonial issues struck for circulation in Ceylon during the early 17th century. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Armillary sphere depicted centrally, rendered in a bold and simplified style with intersecting lines forming the globe's meridian and latitude bands, and a diagonal band representing the ecliptic or equator crossing the sphere. The design is enclosed within an irregular raised rim consistent with hammered fabric. The armillary sphere was a principal emblem of the Portuguese Empire, widely employed on colonial coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
The bazaruco was a denomination inherited by the Portuguese from pre-colonial Ceylonese monetary practice — the name itself derives from the Arabic *bazar*, reflecting the Indian Ocean trade networks that predated European arrival. Portugal's colonial administration recognized that local commerce depended on small-denomination copper coinage and continued issuing it rather than imposing metropolitan monetary standards, a pragmatic concession to economic reality on the island.
Production spanned the slow erosion of Portuguese control in Ceylon, ending as the Dutch VOC completed its campaign to expel them — Colombo fell in 1656.