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São Tomé de 12 Xerafins - João Prince Goa mint
| Issuer | Portuguese India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808-1816 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | A bold floriated cross of St. Thomas (Cruz de São Tomé) occupies the full field, dividing the surface into four quarters. The denomination numeral '12' and the xerafins abbreviation 'X' appear in the upper left and upper right quarters respectively, while the date '18' and '14' are placed in the lower left and lower right quarters. The cross terminals are decorated with fleur-de-lis-style flourishes, and the coin edge shows characteristic hammered irregularity consistent with Goa mint production of the early nineteenth century. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The xerafim was a unit of account deeply embedded in the Indo-Portuguese monetary system, and by the early nineteenth century its gold denominations were caught between two pressures: the disruption of Portuguese imperial finance following Napoleon's invasion of the peninsula in 1807, and the chronic shortage of bullion reaching Goa as the Estado da India contracted around its last viable coastal enclaves. João, ruling as Prince Regent from Brazil after the court's flight from Lisbon, nominally authorized this coinage from across the Atlantic.
Goa's mint was notoriously inconsistent in planchet preparation during this period, and weight variation within the type is common.