Escudo: coin of Portuguese Republic; 100 centavo

ESCUDO: COIN OF PORTUGAL

50 escudo, 1969: Portuguese Republic

50 escudo, 1969: Portuguese Republic

REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA: Portuguese Republic.

50$00: 50 escudos 00 centavos ($ — cifrão symbol).

Element of the coat of arms of Portugal (central part): inside the shield with 7 castles depicted 5 small shields in the form of a cross from the heraldic shield of Portugal (symbolize the five Moorish kings who were defeated by the first Portuguese king Afonso I); 5 dots on each small shield — 5 bezants (Byzantine gold coin — symbolising the right of the monarch to issue currency, as leader of a sovereign state; in the late Middle Ages coins were interpreted as the five wounds of Jesus Christ).

I CENT DO NASCIMENTO DO MARECHAL CARMONA, 1869-1969: centenary of the birth of Marshal Carmona: 1869-1969 (Óscar Carmona — Portuguese military and political figure, Marshal of Portugal; 11th President).

Engraver of the Lisbon Mint Marcelino Norte de Almeida (micro mark M. NORTE SCULP. next to portrait).

Casa da Moeda (Portuguese Mint, Lisbon).

Mintage: 500.000.

  • Silver (0.650): 34 mm - 18 g
  • Reference price: 13$

COIN ESCUDO — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
  1. PORTUGAL (1914-2001): escudo = 100 centavo (it is generally accepted that the Portuguese escudo was put into circulation in 1911 (it is about the escudo as a monetary unit, currency); however, it is not difficult to find information about the issue of the Portuguese gold coin during the 16th-19th centuries, which is also called escudo in numismatic catalogs)
  2. SPAIN (16th-19th centuries): escudo = 16 real (19th century: escudo = 100 céntimo)
For most modern numismatists, the escudo is a purely Portuguese coin (including the coin of Portuguese colonies). However, it was originally a gold coin of Spain, which appeared in the first half of the 16th century. Later, it spread to neighboring Portugal and the colonies of both powerful metropolises of the Middle Ages.
  • "SPANISH" escudo — ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, GUATEMALA, MEXICO, PERU...
  • "PORTUGUSE" escudo — ANGOLA, AZORES, CAPE VERDE, GUINEA-BISSAU, MADEIRA, PORTUGUESE INDIA, MOZAMBIQUE, SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE, TIMOR PORTUGUESE...

About the name of the coin escudo: translated from Spanish and Portuguese "escudo" means "shield" or "coat of arms" (from Latin "Scutum"), which was a traditional design element of almost all coins bearing this name.
The following coin names are considered to be related to the escudo in terms of origin and meaning: Italian scudo and French ecu, which also come from Latin. "Scutum".