World Silver & Bronze

Lot 4070       World Silver & Bronze

Estimate $200
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $210

MALAYSIA, Portuguese Malacca, Manuel I (1511-1521), tin bastardo?, (21.7 grams), issued 1515-7, obv. standard Manuel I legend, but with cross instead of arms of Portugal, rev. the armillary sphere, (cf.Saran Singh M.23 for legend and reverse). Very fine and apparently unpublished.

The style and weight suggests an issue between that of the second issue under De Brito Patalim as First Captain of Malacca 1512-1515 and that of Aleixo de Menezes coinage the third issue of 1517-1521. The style is like that of the third issue but nearly twice the weight and the third issue uses the coat of arms of Portugal, wheras the second issue utilises the cross of the Order of the Knights of Christ which what appears on this issue. As the sources do not list coins between 1515 and 1517 and that the price of tin rapidly increased from 1512 causing a drop in weight from 52 grams to 35 grams by 1515 for the bastardo and the new coinage of 1517 weighing only 12 grams, does suggest that an intermediate issue would weigh between these two weight standards. Consequently the issue is tendatively assigned to 1515-1517.