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5 Escudos Pattern
| Issuer | Casa da Moeda (Portuguese Mint) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1963-1986 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7 g |
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| Obverse description | A finely detailed representation of a Portuguese caravel under full sail navigates to the right, its multiple masts, rigging, and billowing sails rendered with considerable artistic precision. The word PROVA (proof/pattern) is stamped in the left field, identifying this piece as a trial strike. The circular legend REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA runs along the upper periphery, with the date flanked by two small stars positioned in the lower exergue. The design, engraved by Jaime Martins Barata, reflects the maritime heritage and Age of Discovery symbolism characteristic of mid-twentieth-century Portuguese coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA + 1973 + PROVA stamped in field (Translation: Portuguese Republic) |
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| Additional information |
Pattern coinage from Casa da Moeda during this period reflects Portugal's prolonged uncertainty over the practical composition of its circulating 5 Escudos denomination. The Estado Novo government was wrestling simultaneously with rising metal costs and the economic strain of funding colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau — wars that consumed an estimated 40% of Portugal's national budget by the early 1970s. Striking multiple alloy trials across more than two decades was not indecision but fiscal triage.
The Gomes reference R E9.13 places this among a cluster of trials that never reached circulation approval.