Catalog
1 Centavo Leiria
| Issuer | Associação Comercial de Leiria |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red on cream paper, the obverse carries at left the circular vignette of the Associação Comercial de Leiria, incorporating a heraldic shield with a castle tower amid foliate ornament and surmounted by a stylised pineapple finial, encircled by the association's name and 'LEIRIA' on a ribbon below. To the right, the large numeral '1' is set within a rectangular panel suspended from decorative floral chains, with diagonal ruled lines converging on a plain circular serial-number field at the right. A panoramic silhouette of the Leiria cityscape with its castle runs across the lower half of the note. Two signature panels at the lower margin bear the manuscript signatures of the Presidente and Tesoureiro. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse, printed in a lighter rose-red on cream paper, is the mirror impression of the obverse design showing through from the recto, with the circular association vignette at right and the numeral '1' panel at centre, along with the Leiria cityscape silhouette across the lower portion. A circular wet-stamp impression is visible at left, partially overlapping the serial-number field. |
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| Comments |
Associação Comercial de Leiria was one of dozens of Portuguese commercial associations that stepped in to produce emergency cédulas during the acute small-change shortage of 1917–1920, when wartime metal demands stripped circulation of copper and bronze coin. These local chamber-issued notes were technically private instruments, redeemable against the association's own funds rather than the state — a legally ambiguous arrangement the government tolerated out of necessity.
Leiria's commercial community was modest in scale, and cédulas from smaller provincial issuers like this one typically circulated briefly and intensely before wearing to destruction. The survival rate for issued examples in any condition is correspondingly low.