Cruzado 'L-L or L-R' - João III 2nd type, Lisboa

João III inherited a mint system stretched thin by the demands of the Estado da India — gold flowing in from Mina and the spice routes was being coined at pace, but die consistency was never the priority. The cruzado's second type saw ongoing variation in the positioning of mint marks, giving rise to the L-L and L-R distinctions that collectors now use to differentiate dies from the Lisboa mint across this twelve-year window.

The fineness of .9896 is notably high even by the standards of Manueline-era gold, a specification carried forward almost unchanged from João II's monetary reforms of the 1480s.