Portuguese Timor's coinage in 1970 was being struck for a territory the Lisbon government was already struggling to hold. Four years after this coin entered circulation, the Carnation Revolution ended the Estado Novo regime and accelerated the collapse of the entire Portuguese colonial system. Indonesia invaded in December 1975, and whatever circulating stock remained was displaced almost immediately by Indonesian rupiah — leaving many pieces in relatively unworn condition simply because the political situation terminated normal commerce so abruptly.
Portuguese Timor's coinage in 1970 was being struck for a territory the Lisbon government was already struggling to hold. Four years after this coin entered circulation, the Carnation Revolution ended the Estado Novo regime and accelerated the collapse of the entire Portuguese colonial system. Indonesia invaded in December 1975, and whatever circulating stock remained was displaced almost immediately by Indonesian rupiah — leaving many pieces in relatively unworn condition simply because the political situation terminated normal commerce so abruptly.