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Vintém 'Shield with 8 Castles' – João III Lisboa
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1521-1555 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.9 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a crowned Gothic letter V (for Vintém), surmounted by a royal crown with fleurs-de-lis finials. Two pellets flank the base of the letter V within an inner beaded or linear circle. The surrounding legend, separated by pellet stops, runs clockwise along the rim in Gothic Latin characters. The overall style is consistent with Portuguese hammered silver coinage of the early sixteenth century. |
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| Reverse lettering | AG# J3 62 ----------IOANES : III : R : PORT AG# J3 63 to 65 ---IOANES III RE |
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| Additional information |
João III inherited a crown already stretched thin by the costs of maintaining Estado da India, and the vintém was the workhorse of domestic Portuguese commerce throughout his reign — the denomination that paid for bread, ferry crossings, and market stalls while silver from American and Asian trade paradoxically strained the metropolitan economy. The Lisboa mint produced several die varieties across these thirty-four years, catalogued by Gomes as J3 62 through 65, distinguished primarily by subtle differences in the shield rendering and pellet arrangements.
Strike quality on Lisboa vinténs of this reign is notoriously inconsistent, a documented production issue rather than a grading observation — the dies were frequently reused well past their useful life.