Vintém - Manuel I º M L, Lisboa mint

The vintém — worth 20 reais — was introduced as part of Manuel I's monetary reform of 1499, which systematized Portuguese coinage at a moment when Vasco da Gama's return from India had just transformed the Crown's fiscal ambitions entirely. The Lisboa mint was the principal striking authority for the type throughout Manuel's reign, though output volumes varied sharply with the flow of spice revenue from the Estado da India.

Gomes E1.27 distinguishes this emission by the specific arrangement of the mintmark and moneyer initials M and L. Specimens that have spent time in tropical circulation — carried to Goa, Cochin, or Hormuz as small change — frequently show a distinctive red-toned toning from humid environments entirely unlike anything seen on domestically circulated examples.