I got this half a year ago, but I think I forgot to post it at the time. Portugal, 500 Reis, 1891, Carlos I
PORTUGAL Vintem (20 Réis) n.d. - mule with Sebastiao I (1557-78) obv. and Filipe I (1580-98) 40 Réis rev.; this is an error - although marked XX XX, the coin is size (19 mm) and weight (1.71 g) of 20 Réis After the death of Henrique I without children in 1580, there were three contenders for the throne: Dom António, Prior of Crato, the illegitimate son of Prince Louis, Duke of Beja, Manuel I’s second son, Catherine of Braganza and Philip II of Spain, all grandchildren of King Manuel I. Dom António was proclaimed King of Portugal in Santarém on 19 July 1580 but ruled for only 20 days before his defeat by Philip II's armies at the Battle of Alcântara on 25 August He set up an opposition government on the island of Terceira, in the Azores, which had remained loyal to him, which lasted until the Spaniards occupied the islands in 1583. Philip II of Spain ruled as Philip I (Filipe I) of Portugal. This mule was presumably struck in error in the confusion at the beginning of his reign.
João III 1/2 Tostão (50 Reais) n.d. (1521-57) João III Tostão (100 Reais) n.d. (1521-57) If anyone can give me the name of the mintmaster VL on the obverse, I should be grateful
COINS of João IV (1640-56) 1/2 Vintém (10 Réis) n.d. Lisbon mint Vintém (20 Réis) Evora mint 4 Vinténs (80 Réis) n.d. Evora mint
I'm not usually into modern commemoratives, but the Japanese theme intrigued me. Portugal, 1993, 200 Escudos, 450th Anniversary of Nanban Art. Portuguese traders made a big, if short-lived, influence on Japanese art after their arrival in 1493. Under the "Sakoku" system of the Tokugawa Shogunate, most Western influences were stamped out (to the great detriment of local Christian converts). Trade was limited to a few isolated southern ports, mostly under the Dutch as they were non-Catholic and seen as less of a threat.
There's a whole series of these coins celebrating Portuguese exploration, and I have all of them. I love the topic of exploration in general and Portugal's contribution to it is way bigger than the size of the country or its current significance would suggest. There's around 30 coins in the series but here are a few.
When I was starting into coins in 1964 I managed to acquire this set of three Portuguese coins dated 1960 and commemorating someone named Prince Henry, who I knew nothing about. All three coins were made of silver and all had the same design, adjusted for size and denomination. Recently I found an old book by historian Elaine Sanceau entitled Henry the Navigator, published in 1947, which proved to be a very interesting account of Portuguese sea voyages into the Atlantic and down the west coast of Africa. Portugal 5 Escudos 1960 Prince Henry the Navigator Silver, 24 mm, 7.16 gm Issued to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death in 1460. Prince Henry was born in 1394, the third of five sons of King John of Portugal. His father appointed him as Grand Master of the Knights of Christ, the Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar, which put Prince Henry in control of a huge amount of money. He opened a sort of university of seamanship and navigation for sea captains, sailors, ship engineers, which was attended and instructed by mariners from all over Europe. Prince Henry's financed voyages of exploration and financially encouraged ships to go further into the Atlantic and down the west coast of Africa. He is considered to be the father of Portuguese exploration. Portugal 10 Escudos 1960 Prince Henry the Navigator Silver, 30 mm, 12.57 gm Of course, the purpose of these explorations was to locate gold, slaves, and goods to be brought back to Portugal, and these were making the country rich. Portugal 20 Escudos 1960 Prince Henry the Navigator Silver, 34 mm, 20.98 gm Prince Henry was especially interested in the legends of "Prester John", a fabulously wealthy and powerful Christian king of an African country and sent ships and exploring parties into Africa to find his kingdom with the idea of forming a Christian alliance to fight the Moslems. Prince Henry died in 1460 but his university was kept going due to the profits it was bringing to the country.