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50 Escudos Vasco da Gama
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1969 |
| Type | Commemorative circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's birth, this coin was struck under the Estado Novo regime at a moment when Portugal was simultaneously celebrating its imperial past and fighting three colonial wars in Africa. The anniversary gave the Salazar government — Caetano had just taken over in September 1968 — a convenient vehicle for nationalist pageantry while the escudo itself was under increasing fiscal pressure from military expenditure.
The .650 silver fineness reflects a gradual degradation from earlier Portuguese commemorative silver, which had typically run at .835 or higher.