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1/2 Tostão - Sebastião I 2nd type
| Issuer | Portuguese Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1558-1573 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.4 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the Portuguese royal arms: a quartered shield displaying the five escutcheons (quinas) charged with five bezants in saltire in the upper and lower quarters, and the bordure of seven castles, the whole surmounted by a small cross pattée at the top. The shield is rendered in the characteristic hammered style of the period, with flat relief. The circumferential legend reads SEBASTIANVS:I:REX PORTVG in Gothic-influenced Latin capital letters, partially visible around the dentilated border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Sebastião I was three years old when he ascended the Portuguese throne in 1557, making every coin struck in his early reign — including this type — technically the issue of a child king governed by regents, first his grandmother Catherine of Austria and then Cardinal Henrique. The 2nd type designation in the Gomes sequence reflects a revision to the coinage made as the reign stabilized, though Sebastião himself would never truly stabilize it.
He died at Alcácer Quibir in 1578 with no heir, ending the Aviz dynasty and triggering the Iberian Union under Philip II of Spain two years later.