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20 Centavos Arcos de Valdevez
| Issuer | Hospital de S. José, Arcos de Valdevez |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1922 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | HOSPITAL DE S. JOSÉ ARCOS DE VALDEVEZ VALE 20 CENTAVOS O Provedor (Translation: Hospital of S. José Arcos de Valdevez Worth 20 Cents The Provider) |
| Reverse description | Printed in green on white paper with the same decorative rosette-and-circle border as the obverse. The central vignette is an allegorical composition in an engraved classical style, showing a seated draped woman attended by two young children, one kneeling before her and one seated at her side, set against a foliated background. A circular denomination cartouche reading 'VALE 20 CENTAVOS' occupies the upper right corner, and an anti-counterfeiting exhortation runs along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Hospital de S. José in Arcos de Valdevez was among the many Portuguese charitable institutions authorized to issue small-denomination cédulas during the severe coin shortage that gripped Portugal in the late 1910s. The shortage was a direct consequence of wartime hoarding and the disappearance of bronze and copper from circulation — metals diverted to the war effort after Portugal entered the First World War in 1916. Hospitals, municipal councils, and even private firms filled the vacuum with emergency paper.
The watermarked paper distinguishes this cédula from cruder local emissions of the same period, suggesting procurement from a commercial stationer rather than purely improvised production. Many of these institutional notes were never formally redeemed once the coin supply normalized.