Catalog
1 Centavo Matosinhos
| Issuer | Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Size | 98 × 61 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in green on plain paper, the obverse carries a central oval vignette of a coastal fortification, likely the Leça da Palmeira lighthouse fort, set within a guilloche border frame. The issuer's title 'CAMARA MUNICIPAL DE MATOSINHOS' is inscribed across the upper field, with the denomination numeral '1' repeated in the upper corners alongside the abbreviated 'CENTV.' legend. Below the vignette appear two manuscript signature lines, captioned 'O CHEFE DA SECRETARIA' at left and 'O PRES.ᵃ DA COMISSÃO EXECUTIVA' at right, with a serial number centred at the foot. |
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| Obverse lettering | CAMARA MUNICIPAL DE MATOSINHOS 1 CENTV. O CHEFE DA SECRETARIA O PRES.ª DA COMISSÃO EXCUTIVA (Translation: Matosinhos Municipal Council 1 centavo / The Head of the Secretariat / The President of the Executive Commission) |
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| Comments |
Portuguese municipal emergency notes — cédulas — proliferated after 1917 when a severe coin shortage, driven by wartime metal requisitioning and hoarding, forced local councils to print their own fractional currency. Matosinhos, an industrial fishing port just north of Porto, was among dozens of municipalities that resorted to locally issued paper to keep small transactions moving. These cédulas had no backing beyond the issuing council's word and were theoretically redeemable, though in practice many were simply absorbed into circulation until they disintegrated.
MA#1342 is one of the scarcer municipal issues from the northern district. Survival rates for low-denomination cédulas are poor — they were handled constantly, worth almost nothing individually, and rarely saved.