Patacão - João III

The patacão was struck under João III in the final years of his reign, a period when Portugal's overextended empire was beginning to strain the crown's finances. Copper coinage of this size served the domestic economy while silver drained eastward to fund the Estado da India. João III died in 1557 leaving no surviving legitimate heirs, and the succession crisis that followed would eventually deliver Portugal into the Spanish union of 1580.

KM#15 specimens from this emission frequently show irregular flan preparation, a known characteristic of the Lisbon mint's copper production in this decade rather than evidence of post-mint damage.