Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Euro Vasco da Gama
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver (.925) |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central design features the Portuguese coat of arms at left, overlaid on a large compass rose radiating across the field. To the right, a Portuguese caravel is depicted under sail. A ring of twelve stars encircles the central design, referencing the European Union. The legend PORTUGAL arcs along the upper rim, with the date 1998 and denomination 20 EURO inscribed in a cartouche along the lower rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | PORTUGAL 1998 20 EURO |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Issued as part of the Portuguese Discoveries series, this coin commemorates the 500th anniversary of da Gama's first voyage to India, completed in 1498 — the route that broke the Arab and Venetian stranglehold on spice trade and reshaped European economics for generations. Portugal produced an extensive program of collector issues throughout the 1990s timed to these quincentenary milestones, and the da Gama pieces were among the highest-profile releases in that run.
Da Gama's 1497–99 voyage lost roughly half its crew to scurvy before reaching Calicut.