The 1984 film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is the second of the "Indiana Jones" films about the 1930's archaeologist and adventurer. The film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott, a "dumb blonde" nightclub entertainer who becomes Jones' partner in various adventures. Early in the film, some coins appear on a table, they are based on Portuguese gold moidores. Moidores circulated in the American colonies and were favorites of pirates.

This film is set before "Raiders of the Lost Ark" which introduced Indiana Jones, a 1930's American archaeologist who finds historic items. Indiana is in a Shanghai China nightclub to sell a statue to Lao Che, a Chinese businessman and gangster. Mr. Lao's girlfriend Willie Scott is a nightclub singer. The deal goes bad and Indiana and Willie, joined by a Chinese boy, escape on an airplane which takes them to India. In India they are asked to look into a cult which has been stealing sacred stones and children. After some more adventures, they manage to shut down the cult.

He is here to sell a small statue of "Nurhachi" to Lao Che, a Chinese businessman/gangster. The payment is supposed to be a large diamond.

Willie Scott is a nightclub singer and the girlfriend of Lao Che.

Lao Che's man pulls a gun and tries to steal the goods. Indiana takes Willie as a hostage.

Lao Che tries to pay for the statue with a bag of gold coins.

Indiana rejects the coins, he wants the diamond. "The diamond, Lao, the deal was for the diamond". He has Willie hand them back. Lao Che then reluctantly hands over the diamond and receives the statue.

Lao Che has the Nurhachi and then tells Indiana that he has been poisoned. He asks Indiana to return the diamond, which he does.

The next scene shows Lao Che picking up the diamond, a stack of paper money, and the gold coins on the table.

The coins in the film were copied from gold Portuguese moidores but enlarged for film purposes. The moidore was a Portuguese gold coin struck in the 1600's and 1700's.

A Portuguese moidore:

The name "moidore" is an abbreviation for "moeda de ouro", or "money of gold." Moidores were used in many places in the world, and are mentioned in stories of pirate treasure. They appeared in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. The legend "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES" is "In This Sign You will Conquer", a slogan used by the Roman Emperor Constantine AD 312 to describe a vision he had of a Christian Cross just before a battle. The legend "PEDRO II DG PORT ET ALG REX" is an abbreviation for "Pedro II by the Grace of God Portugal and Algavre King." Pedro II (Peter II) was king of Portugal from 1683 to 1706. A moidore would have a diameter of 29 mm and weigh around 10.7 grams. The closest United States gold coin was the $5 coin, weighing 8.4 grams or around 1/4 troy ounce. A moidore would be worth around six American dollars or 27 British shillings.

A fight between Jones and Lao Che's gang breaks out.

A fight breaks out at the nightclub with Indiana looking for an antidote to the poison and Willie looking for the diamond.

Indiana and Willie meet Short Round, a Chinese boy, he gets a car and drives them to the airport.

The airplane is ready to take off with extra passengers.

The airplane is carrying cargo.

The pilot checks on the passengers.

The airplane heads southwest towards mountains and then India. In India, Indiana, Willie, and Short Round meet some villagers who tell them that a strange cult is operating in the area. The cultists have taken some sacred stones and the children.

The sacred stones were kept here.

Transportation is basic.

The three enter a palace connected with the cult.

They locate the cult headquarters at the "Temple of Doom", a Kali-worshipping group.

The three watching the ceremonies.

Mola Ram is the leader of the cult.

After watching a human sacrifice and finding the missing children being used as slave laborers in a mine, Indiana is disgusted and prepares to close the group down.

After a fight, the three get ready to leave in a mine car. The children, having freed themselves, escape separately.

Outside, Indiana and Mola Ram enter a personal battle over a crocodile-filled river. Mola loses and feeds the wildlife.

The three return to the village with the sacred stones.

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott
Ke Huy Quan as Short Round
Amrish Puri as Mola Ram
Roy Chiao as Lao Che
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz