Goa 1784 12 xerafins
This specimen was lot 23284 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $3,840. The catalog description[1] noted, "INDIA. Portuguese India. Goa. 12 Xerafins, 1784. Goa Mint. Maria I & Pedro III. NGC MS-63. Already a RARE issue, this type is VERY RARE in such an alluring, elevated state of preservation as is the case here. Highly brilliant and glistening, and with a sharp strike, this specimen should generate great enthusiasm. The only example in the NGC census for the date, and undoubtedly one of the finest for any date which one will encounter." The Portuguese were the first European power to make direct contact with India. They concentrated on trade but were not above piracy or political meddling if the opportunity arose. They conquered or dominated a good part of India in the sixteenth century but gradually had to yield to others, especially the British. By the eighteenth century, Portuguese holdings were limited to Diu, Damao and Goa. Each had a mint which struck hammered coinage until the 1860's. This rare type is listed in the SCWC for 1781-1806.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.87 g, gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-1483; KM-187.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Alberto Gomes and Francisco Antonio Magro, Moedas Portuguesas e do Território Que Hoje é Portugal: Catálogo das Moedas Cunhadas para o Continentes e Ilhas Adjacentes, para os Territórios do Ultramar e Grão-Mestres Portugueses da Ordem de Malta, 6ª Edição, Lisbon: Associação Numismática de Portugal, 2013.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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