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1 Leal - Manuel I Goa mint
| Issuer | Portuguese India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1510-1521 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Leal = 2 Reais (1⁄180) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | An armillary sphere rendered in low relief at the center of the field, serving as the personal device of King Manuel I of Portugal and a prominent symbol of Portuguese maritime exploration and imperial ambition. The sphere is depicted with intersecting rings representing the celestial circles, consistent with the simplified stylization seen on early Portuguese colonial hammered coinage. The strike is typically uneven, with the design partially flat on the high points due to the crude hammered technique and irregular planchet. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Manuel I authorized copper coinage for Goa almost immediately after Afonso de Albuquerque seized the city from the Bijapur Sultanate in 1510 — the leal being among the first Portuguese-struck coins produced on Indian soil. The Goa mint itself had existed under previous rulers, and the Portuguese simply repurposed it, which accounts for some technical inconsistency across surviving specimens.
The leal denomination was essentially a concession to local trade custom, calibrated to compete with existing indigenous copper issues rather than impose a purely Lusitanian monetary framework on a market that would have rejected it.