A Collection Of Coins From Portugal

Continuing with the centavo.




Issuer: Portugal
Period: First Republic (1910-1926)
Type: Standard circulation coin
Years: 1924-1940
Value: 10 Centavos (0.10 PTE)
Currency: Escudo (1911-2001)
Composition: Bronze
Weight: 4 g
Diameter: 22 mm
Thickness: 1.50 mm
Shape: Round
Orientation: Medal alignment
Demonetized: Yes
References: KM# 573
Mintage: 3,384,000

Very nice coin

Thank you all!

Steve,

I ended getting a few more coins because of you. I'll post them toward the end ;)

I love the coins with the caravel design. I have the 1955 10 escudo.

Even the post-silver CuNi types in high grade are very attractive. I still have a few I picked up on my first visit to Portugal in 1980.

First a little history on the Portuguese economy.

After the overthrow of the monarchy Portugal's economy went from periods of boom and bust. The economy started off strong in 1910 and promptly collapsed due to poor planning, lax control and the largest counterfeiting scheme ever devised (I posted the link earlier in the thread). This resulted in another Coup D'Etat and the military leaders begging an economist (Salazar) from Coimbra university to manage the finances of Portugal. In 1 year he was able to stabilize the economy and the finances. Resulting in getting elected to Prime Minister and eventually becoming a dictator for almost 40 years. As a result of his financial control, Portugal barely suffered during the great depression and the economy again boomed during WWII as a result of Portugal staying Neutral. The Germans needed Portuguese Escudos to buy commodities. Hence the Escudo rose significantly in value.

While the original controls worked well during the period of 1930 to 1946, they didn't work so well from 1947 onward. The economy stagnated, but while Salazar was a dictator he was primarily an economist and realized that the strict controls he implemented needed to be changed. In the 1950's there were several plans introduced to streamline and modernize the economy, resulting in one of the largest economic growth in Portugal (over 4.8% yearly on average). This resulted in Portugal acquiring the 14th largest gold reserves in the world (Portugal is a very small country of about 10 million people). This economic expansion lasted until the late 60's in which the colonies started demanding independence and starting the Colonial war which resulted in the end of the 2nd republic.

This coin commemorates the change of the economy and is one of my favorite coins. Its a large coin (dollar sized) and has so much luster. The coin reminds me of the Seated Liberty.






Issuer: Portugal
Period: Second Republic (1926-1974)
Type: Circulating commemorative coin
Year: 1953
Value: 20 Escudos (20 PTE)
Currency: Escudo (1911-2001)
Composition: Silver (.800)
Weight: 21 g
Diameter: 34 mm
Thickness: 2.7 mm
Shape: Round
Orientation: Coin alignment
Demonetized: 2001
References: KM# 585
Mintage: 1,000,000

Very attractive coin! A nice piece for most any collection!

You have me on ignore




Thank you! I try to do the history when I can. I hope it's interesting.

Thank you! I have a few more "commemorative" coins from Portugal, I think you will like ;)