The ECU — European Currency Unit — was never legal tender in the conventional sense, existing only as a basket currency and accounting unit within the European Monetary System. Portugal's decision to strike gold collector issues denominated in ECU placed it among a handful of member states that embraced the unit as a prestige vehicle during the 1990s, before the euro rendered the entire denomination obsolete at decade's end. Manuel I's reign (1495–1521) saw Portugal at the apex of its maritime empire, with Vasco da Gama's 1498 route to India transforming Lisbon into the wealthiest spice entrepôt in Europe.
The .9167 fineness matches the traditional 22-karat standard long associated with Portuguese gold coinage.
The ECU — European Currency Unit — was never legal tender in the conventional sense, existing only as a basket currency and accounting unit within the European Monetary System. Portugal's decision to strike gold collector issues denominated in ECU placed it among a handful of member states that embraced the unit as a prestige vehicle during the 1990s, before the euro rendered the entire denomination obsolete at decade's end. Manuel I's reign (1495–1521) saw Portugal at the apex of its maritime empire, with Vasco da Gama's 1498 route to India transforming Lisbon into the wealthiest spice entrepôt in Europe.
The .9167 fineness matches the traditional 22-karat standard long associated with Portuguese gold coinage.