Ceitil - Manuel I Group 1 - Castle without wall

Manuel I inherited a monetary system already producing the ceitil — a denomination introduced under Afonso V in the mid-fifteenth century specifically for small transactions in Portuguese North Africa, where it took its name from Ceuta. By Manuel's reign it had become the lowest circulating copper piece in the kingdom, practically synonymous with poverty; contemporary literature used it as shorthand for worthlessness. The Magro Group 1 classification distinguishes this emission by the unfortified castle rendering, a die characteristic that separates early Manuel issues from later variants with wall detailing.