20 Escudos Prova

Casa da Moeda struck pattern coinage — *provas* — as internal approval pieces before committing to full production runs, and the 1952 20 Escudos sits in that narrow documentary category. Portugal's Estado Novo regime under Salazar was tightly controlling public finances through the early 1950s, and currency design decisions moved slowly through official channels. Most provas from this mint survive in tiny numbers, often just a handful of confirmed specimens, with the majority retained in institutional collections rather than released to the public.