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.
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.