Catalog
1 Centavo Leiria
| Issuer | Câmara Municipal de Leiria |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper note enclosed within a typographically printed rectangular border of foliate ornamental design. The issuer's name CAMARA MUNICIPAL DE LEIRIA is set in bold letterpress across the upper field, below a handwritten-style serial number line reading N.°. The denomination is expressed in three elements across the centre: VALE to the left, a large red and black overprinted monogram Um in the centre, and CENTAVO to the right. Signature lines for O Pres.te da C. Exc.va and O Tesoureiro appear in the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted and shows only the blind embossed impression of the obverse design visible through the thin paper stock, confirming the note was printed on a single side. |
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| Comments |
Câmara Municipal de Leiria issued emergency fractional cédulas during the acute coin shortage that gripped Portugal in the early 1920s — a direct consequence of wartime hoarding and the collapse of small-denomination silver coinage. Municipal chambers across the country were legally authorised to fill the gap, producing their own paper substitutes for coins that had simply vanished from circulation. Leiria was one of dozens of municipalities that took up that authority.
The 1 Centavo denomination was the smallest unit most chambers bothered to print, and surviving examples at this value tend to show heavier wear than higher denominations — a centavo changed hands constantly before it became worthless.