Novamarketing Chiasso Medals Coins India F Portuguese India Portuguese Uncertain mint Jose Rupee

# 576Rupee nd Jose IIndia F Portuguese - Uncertain mint
Portuguese India – Jose I, King of Portugal (1750-1777). Rupee ND, Mint: Uncertain, Silver (ø 23 mm – w. 10.96 g.). Edge: plain. Peres 274-76 (Rupee of Joao V) , Gomes 11.01 (Xerafim of Pedro II - in the past for Diu mint, today for Damao), Vaz P2.42 (Xerafim of Pedro II, Diu mint), KM 5 (Xerafim of Pedro II, Diu mint).

Obverse:
Crowned coat-of-arms of Portugal, within stylized branches, within outer cirle of rays.

Reverse:
Voided (coticed) Cross of St. George with groups of five stylized flowers at the ends.

Note:
Imitation of the Rupee with date of Jose I, uncertain mint.

Peres considers this coin One Rupee of John V, minted in Damao, and not a Xerafim of Pedro II. According to him, the mint of Damao didn't mint coins from 1667 to 1720 and the weight of the coins examined is the same as the Rupees minted since 1726 (stylistically similar to those minted from 1741 to 1771). In fact, the specimens of the Portuguese Numismatic Museum weigh between 11.37 and 11.90 grams, while the Xerafins of Pedro II (and those of Joan V minted up to 1725) weigh up to 10.65 grams only.
However the coin bears the coat-of-arms used in the rupees of Jose I, different from that of Johan V, and in the corners of the cross there are strange symbols, similar to the digits of a date (1-7-6-x ?). It looks like an imitation of a Rupee of Jose I with date.
There is no evidence to affirm that this coin was minted under Pedro II or Johan V and, for its weight, should not be a Xerafim. Its attribution to the time of Jose I as a Rupee seems to be more correct.

Metallographic analysis:
Ag 72–87 % / Cu 27–12 % / Pb 0.5 % / Au 0.1 %
(Examination performed using an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDXRF), model Fischersope XAN-FD, on the coin’s surface (ca 100 microns depth) without any mechanical preparation).

Provenance:
Numisart, Roland Michel, Genève, November 2000.

Literature:
Gerson da Cunha J. – Contributions to the Study of Indo-Portuguese Numismatics – First Edition, Bombay, 1880. AES reprint, 1995.
Gomes A. – Moedas Portuguesas e do Territorio que hoje é Portugal – Edição da Associação de Portugal, 5a Edição, Lisboa, 2007.
Krause C. and Mishler C. – Standard Catalog of World Coins 1601-1700 – Krause Publications, 3rd Edition, Usa, 2003.
Peres D. – Catalogo Das Moedas Indo-Portuguesa do Museu Numismatico Português – Vol. 1,2,3. Lisboa 1963,1964,1969.
Vaz J.F. – Dinheiro Luso-Indiano (Indo-Portuguese Money) – Oficinas de Barbosa and Xavier Lda, 1a Edição, Braga-Portugal, 1980.