Portugal - 5 Centavos 1918

Cédula da Casa da Moeda - 5 Centavos Bronze. Emissão 5-4-1918


The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999 and was removed from circulation on 28 February 2002. The ISO 4217 code of the escudo was PTE. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos. Its symbol was the cifrão, similar to the dollar sign, but with two strokes. Amounts in escudos were written as escudoscentavos with the cifrão as the decimal separator (e.g. 25$00 means 25 escudos, 100$50 means 100 escudos and 50 centavos). Because of the conversion rate of 1000 réis = 1 escudo, three decimal places were initially used (1 escudo = 1$000). "Escudo" is Portuguese for "shield".
The Casa da Moeda issued notes for 5, 10 and 20 centavos between 1917 and 1925 whilst, between 1913 and 1922, the Banco de Portugal introduced notes for 50 centavos, 1, 2½, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 escudos. 50 centavos and 1 escudo notes ceased production in 1920, followed by 2½, 5 and 10 escudos in 1925 and 1926. 5000 escudos notes were introduced in 1942.

The last 20 and 50 escudos notes were printed dated 1978 and 1980, respectively, with 100 escudos notes being replaced by coins in 1989, the same year that 10,000 escudos notes were introduced

Banknotes in circulation at the time of the changeover to the euro were:

500 escudos (€ 2.49)
1000 escudos (€ 4.99)
2000 escudos (€ 9.98)
5000 escudos (€ 24.94)
10,000 escudos (€ 49.88)
Banknotes can still be returned to the central bank Banco de Portugal and converted to euros until 28 February 2022.

Escudo banknotes celebrated notable figures from the History of Portugal. The final banknote series featured the Age of Discovery, with João de Barros, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, and Henry the Navigator.

The last 100-escudo Banknote represented Fernando Pessoa, the famous Portuguese writer.