Portuguese real

For the first time, the real was put into circulation by King Fernando I in 1380 - it was a silver coin equal to 120 dinero (10 soldi or ½ libra ). During the reign of Juan I (1385-1433), the real branco , worth 3½ libra , and the real preto , worth 7 soldi ( ¹ ⁄ ₁₀ real branco ), were introduced into circulation. With the beginning of the reign of King Duarte I in 1433, the real Branco (equal to 840 dinero ) became the monetary unit of Portugal. Since the reign of King Manuel I, the name has been reduced to "real", and coins were minted from copper.

In 1837, the decimal system was introduced for coins, and in 1847 Banco de Portugal issued the first banknotes. In 1854, Portugal switched to the gold standard , according to which 1000 reais = 1.62585 g of gold. The standard was maintained until 1891.

Large sums were usually denominated in “miles” (“miles”), that is, in thousands of reals - this term can often be found in Portuguese literature of the 19th century. In figures, the milrais was recorded as 1 $ 000, that is, 60,000 reais could be recorded as 60 $ 000 or 60 miles .

In 1911, the real was replaced by an escudo . A million reais in Portuguese was called “conto de reis”, and this term now began to mean 1.000 escudos , and after switching to the euro, it began to mean 5 euros (for when calculating 1 conto = 4.98797897 €).

The reals also nominated coins and banknotes used in various parts of the Portuguese colonial empire : the Angolan real , the Azores real , the Brazilian real , the Cape Verde real , the Mozambique real , the real Portuguese Guinea , the real Sao Tome and Principe .

Until the mid-19th century, coins of various denominations were minted, and their value in real life could increase over time . For example, under Juan II , a silver cruzado coin of 324 real branco value was put into circulation. Under Juan III, its face value was equated to 400 reais , and such a value of silver cruzado remained until the reign of Pedro II , when it was equated to 480 reais . Meanwhile, gold cruzado grew in value to 750 reais during the reign of Juan IV , and to 875 reais during the reign of Afonso VI until his abdication. The coins that did not change their value were a screw (20 reais ) and toast (100 reais ).

The last time a 1 real coin (including colonial cases) was minted in the 1580s. After this time, the 1½ real coin, which was minted until the 1750s, was the least denominated coin, after which the 3 real coin became the least denominated coin. Since the beginning of the 18th century, the peso , equal to 6,400 reais , has become the standard gold coin (from 7,526 - 7,500 reais ).

In the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. minted copper coins in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 20 and 40 reais , silver coins in denominations of 50, 60, 100, 120, 240 reals of 480, and gold coins in denominations of 480, 800, 1200, 1600, 3200 and 6400 reais. Some of these coins underwent denominations, as a result of which their dignity ceased to correspond to the previous denominations: for example, 200 and 400 coins, respectively, were written on coins of 240 and 480 reais .

In 1837, the decimal system was introduced. Now copper (from 1882 - bronze) coins were minted in denominations of 3, 5, 10 and 20 reais , silver coins in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 reais , and gold coins in denominations of 1000, 2000, 2500, 5000 and 10,000 reais . In 1875, the last coin in denominations of 3 reais was minted. In 1900, copper-nickel coins were minted in denominations of 50 and 100 reais .

The first Portuguese paper money was issued by the government in 1797. Until 1807, banknotes were issued in denominations of 1200, 2400, 5000, 6400, 10,000, 12,000 and 20,000 reais . Some of them were in circulation until the Miguelist wars .

Beginning in the 1820s, paper money began to be issued by some private banks. The most intensive issue of money was the Banco de Lisboa , whose banknotes were denominated both in real and in moed (1 moed = 4800 real ). This bank issued banknotes in denominations of 1200 and 2400 reais , as well as 1, 4, 10, 20, 50 and 100 moed . Banco Commercial de Braga , Banco Commercial do Porto , Banco de Guimaraes and Banco Industrial do Porto from 1833 to 1877 issued bearer checks accepted by other banks.

In 1847, the Bank of Portugal issued banknotes in denominations of 10,000 and 20,000 reais . From 1833, banknotes with a face value of 5,000 reais were issued, from 1886 - at 50,000 reais . In 1891, the Mint issued banknotes in denominations of 50 and 100 reais , and the Bank of Portugal - in denominations of 200, 500, 1000 and 2500 reais , after which in 1894 issued a banknote of 100,000 reais .

1. Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (1991). "Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801-1991" (18th ed. Ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501 .
2. Pick, Albert (1994). “Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues” Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9 .
3. Pick, Albert (1990). “Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Specialized Issues” Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (6th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-149-8 .