Portugal (1495-1521)-P 20 reis
This specimen was lot 1097 in Stephen Album internet sale 28 (Santa Rosa, CA, July 2024), where it sold for $132. The catalog description[1] noted, "PORTUGAL: Manuel I, 1495-1521, AR vintem (1.62 g), Porto, letter P below crowned cursive letter "m" // crowned coat-of-arms of Portugal, lovely VF-XF."
Wikipedia comments,
"Manuel established the Casa da Índia, a royal institution that managed Portugal's monopolies and its imperial expansion. He financed numerous famed Portuguese navigators, including Pedro Álvares Cabral (who discovered Brazil), Afonso de Albuquerque (who established Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean), among numerous others. The income from Portuguese trade monopolies and colonized lands made Manuel the wealthiest monarch in Europe, allowing him to be one of the great patrons of the Portuguese Renaissance, which produced many significant artistic and literary achievements. Manuel patronized numerous Portuguese intellectuals, including playwright Gil Vicente (called the father of Portuguese and Spanish theatre). The Manueline style, considered Portugal's national architecture, is named for the king."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Gomes-30.08.
- Alberto Gomes and Francisco Antonio Magro, Moedas Portuguesas e do Território Que Hoje é Portugal: Catálogo das Moedas Cunhadas para o Continentes e Ilhas Adjacentes, para os Territórios do Ultramar e Grão-Mestres Portugueses da Ordem de Malta, 6ª Edição, Lisbon: Associação Numismática de Portugal, 2013.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Internet Auction 28, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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