Afonso III came to the Portuguese throne by deposing his own brother Sancho II — a move sanctioned by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 through the papal bull Grandi non immerito, which declared Sancho incompetent to rule. The coinage that followed reflects a reign spent consolidating royal authority against both the nobility and the Church, culminating in a direct confrontation with the Portuguese bishops that resulted in Afonso's excommunication in 1268. He died still under that sentence.
The billon content in this series is notably debased even by medieval Iberian standards — a deliberate fiscal policy, not a production inconsistency.
Afonso III came to the Portuguese throne by deposing his own brother Sancho II — a move sanctioned by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 through the papal bull Grandi non immerito, which declared Sancho incompetent to rule. The coinage that followed reflects a reign spent consolidating royal authority against both the nobility and the Church, culminating in a direct confrontation with the Portuguese bishops that resulted in Afonso's excommunication in 1268. He died still under that sentence.
The billon content in this series is notably debased even by medieval Iberian standards — a deliberate fiscal policy, not a production inconsistency.