5 Euros World Heritage - Laurisilva of Macaronesia

The Laurisilva of Macaronesia — encompassing ancient laurel forests across the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands — was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, recognized as one of the largest surviving relics of the subtropical laurel forests that once blanketed southern Europe and North Africa during the Tertiary period. Portugal's INCM issued this coin as part of its ongoing World Heritage commemorative program, which has produced one of the more consistently executed national series tied to UNESCO listings.

The .500 silver fineness is notably lower than the .925 used in most Portuguese commemoratives of the same period.