Item number: A1374

Year: AD 1889

Material: Sliver

Size: 30.5 x 30.5 x 1.9 mm

Weight: 12.3 g

Manufactured by: Casa da Moeda(Portuguese Mint)

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This is a silver coin minted during the reign of King Luís I of Portugal in AD 1889, with a face value of 500 réis. Its edge features prominent grooves. The obverse of the coin displays the left-profile portrait of King Luís I, encircled by a Latin inscription reading: LUDOVICUS·I·PORTUG: ET·ALGARB: REX F.A.C.· 1889 ·, which translates to “Luís I, King of Portugal and the Algarve, made by the Mint · 1889 ·.” The mint referred to here is the Portuguese National Mint (Casa da Moeda), which later merged with the National Printing Office to form today’s Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM). The reverse side bears the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Portugal, flanked by olive and palm branches, with the denomination “500 réis” inscribed at the bottom.

During the mid-15th century AD, Portugal lacked abundant silver reserves and relied on imports from Central and Northern Europe. However, Portugal’s overseas expansion enabled the establishment of a colonial empire, particularly in the Americas, which facilitated the extraction of large quantities of gold and silver. These precious metals were brought back to Europe, ensuring the minting of various gold, silver, and copper coins and fostering prolonged prosperity and monetary stability. It was during this period that the currency unit “real” (réis) replaced smaller denominations and established purity standards for gold and silver coins in AD 1688 and AD 1747.

Portugal’s prosperity and monetary stability came to an end in the 19th century AD. The Napoleonic Wars resulted in the invasion of Portugal by French forces, and Brazil’s independence caused significant political and economic disruptions. To finance military expenditures, Portugal first resorted to issuing paper currency and later adopted the gold standard to stabilise its economy, temporarily restoring prosperity by the mid-19th century AD. However, rising public expenditure and the subsequent fiscal deficits, combined with reduced remittances from Portuguese emigrants in Brazil (following the abolition of slavery and the proclamation of the Republic), led to a financial crisis in AD 1890.

This crisis necessitated large-scale reforms. Politically, Portugal abolished its monarchy and became a republic in AD 1910. In terms of currency, Portugal abandoned the gold standard and introduced the escudo, equivalent to 1,000 réis. Despite these reforms, Portugal’s economy endured further setbacks, such as the Great Depression and the First World War, and it wasn’t until after the Second World War that the country found a path to stable economic growth.

物件編號: A1374

年代: 公元 1889 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 30.5 x 30.5 x 1.9 mm

重量: 12.3 g

製造地: 葡萄牙造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這是一枚公元1889年葡萄牙國王路易斯一世在位期間所鑄之銀幣，幣值為500雷亞爾，其邊緣有著明顯凹槽。銀幣正面則是路易斯一世面向左邊的側臉肖像，其周圍有一道環形銘文，以拉丁文書寫著：「LUDOVICUS·I·PORTUG: ET·ALGARB: REX F.A.C.· 1889 ·」，意思是：「葡萄牙及阿爾加維國王路易一世，由造幣廠製作 · 1889 ·」。這裡所說的造幣廠應是指葡萄牙造幣廠(Casa da Moeda)，造幣廠後來和葡萄牙的國家印刷機構合併，成為如今的葡萄牙印刷造幣廠(Imprensa Nacional–Casa da Moeda)。銀幣的背面有著葡萄牙王國國徽，其兩側分別有橄欖枝及棕櫚枝，底部則標示著這枚銀幣的面值為500雷亞爾。

在公元15世紀中葉期間，葡萄牙王國本身並沒有豐富的銀礦礦藏，因此葡萄牙王國是從中歐、北歐地區進口銀。然而之後葡萄牙對海外的擴張使其建立起一個殖民帝國，並且葡萄牙人對美洲的殖民使其得以從當地開採大量的金、銀礦藏回到歐洲，因而有了足夠的貴金屬開始大量鑄造各種金、銀、銅幣，因此很長一段時間得以維持葡萄牙的繁榮及貨幣穩定。也就是在這段期間後世名為「雷亞爾」的貨幣單位出現並取代了之前過小的單位，並分別在公元1688年和公元1747年確立了1雷亞爾的金幣、銀幣純度標準。

葡萄牙的繁榮及貨幣穩定在進入公元19世紀後畫下句點，主要原因是與法蘭西第一帝國的戰爭導致法軍入侵葡萄牙，並且巴西在同一時期脫離了葡萄牙的殖民，導致葡萄牙在政治和經濟方面都受到了巨大的衝擊。為了應對當時的軍事開支，葡萄牙先是選擇發行紙幣，並在後來採用金本位制來穩定經濟，這樣的作法讓葡萄牙一度在公元19世紀中期恢復繁榮。不過之後葡萄牙王國一方面因公共支出持續增長導致了國家財政赤字不斷擴大，一方面巴西帝國因廢除奴隸制及政變廢除君主制等事件使得葡萄牙僑民減少了對葡萄牙的匯款。種種因素讓葡萄牙在公元1890年時爆發了金融危機。

此事迫使葡萄牙被迫進行大規模的改革以設法度過危機，結果在政治方面葡萄牙推翻君主制並在公元1910年成為共和國，貨幣方面葡萄牙放棄了金本位制，並發行了新貨幣埃斯庫多，當時1埃斯庫多等於1000雷亞爾。然而即使進行了改革，葡萄牙經濟此後又遭受了如大蕭條、一戰等事件衝擊，因此一直到二戰後才開始找到讓經濟穩定增長的途徑。