Portugal 1 escudo 1924

The coin's story

This 1 escudo coin in aluminium-bronze, 95% copper and 5% aluminium, was struck under the First Republic, in a period of steep depreciation of the escudo. In 1924, the government of Álvaro de Castro reformed the metal coinage to halt the fall of the escudo. It withdrew banknotes and replaced them with 1 escudo and 50 centavos coins in aluminium-bronze, of low intrinsic value. The obverse, signed SIMÕES, shows the seated Republic, it is the work of the sculptor José Simões de Almeida. The type was struck only in 1924 and 1926, before being replaced from 1927 by a more durable nickel silver coin. The 1924 date has 7,716,000 pieces.