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100 Escudos Discovery of Azores
| Issuer | Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1989 |
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| Composition | Copper-nickel |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A Portuguese caravel under lateen sails is depicted sailing to the left, rendered in a stylised manner amid a decorative design incorporating stars. Below the vessel, the dates '1427' and '1452' record the discoveries of the first island (Santa Maria, 1427) and the last islands (Corvo and Flores, 1452) of the Azores archipelago. Above the caravel, the date '1439' refers both to the first official cartographic record of the archipelago and to the authorization granted by Infante Henrique for colonization on 2 July 1439. The commemorative dates '1439' and '1989' flank the upper legend, marking the 550th anniversary, while the name 'ARQUIPELAGO DOS ACORES' arcs across the centre of the field. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Azores were almost certainly known to Genoese and Portolan cartographers before any official Portuguese landing — charts from the 1380s show islands in roughly the right position in the Atlantic. The 1989 commemorative marks the conventionally accepted discovery date, itself a contested bureaucratic convenience rather than a clean historical moment. Diogo de Silves is credited with the 1427 sighting, though permanent settlement didn't begin until Gonçalo Velho Cabral reached Santa Maria around 1439.
INCM struck this in copper-nickel during a period when Portugal was rapidly expanding its commemorative program following EC accession in 1986.