5 Euro Cents

Cape Verde's 2004 euro-cent pattern series, of which this is a part, was struck speculatively during the period when the country was exploring closer monetary alignment with the European Union through its existing currency peg to the euro via the escudo. The peg arrangement — formalized through Portugal and backed by the Portuguese Treasury — made a full euro adoption theoretically conceivable, though it never materialized. These pieces were never approved for circulation and exist as probe issues only.