Manuel I came to the throne in 1495 inheriting a kingdom on the edge of something extraordinary — Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape in 1497 and reached Calicut in 1498, and the resulting spice trade revenues flooded the Portuguese treasury almost immediately. The cruzado, named for the cross that marked Portugal's crusading ambitions, became the vehicle through which that Atlantic and Indian Ocean wealth was monetized and exported across Europe.
The Porto mint struck these alongside Lisbon, though Porto's output was considerably smaller. Gomes E1 73 is the Porto attribution; distinguishing mint of origin on worn examples requires careful attention to the mint mark placement rather than any design difference.
Manuel I came to the throne in 1495 inheriting a kingdom on the edge of something extraordinary — Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape in 1497 and reached Calicut in 1498, and the resulting spice trade revenues flooded the Portuguese treasury almost immediately. The cruzado, named for the cross that marked Portugal's crusading ambitions, became the vehicle through which that Atlantic and Indian Ocean wealth was monetized and exported across Europe.
The Porto mint struck these alongside Lisbon, though Porto's output was considerably smaller. Gomes E1 73 is the Porto attribution; distinguishing mint of origin on worn examples requires careful attention to the mint mark placement rather than any design difference.