Catalog
Dinheiro 'Bust' - Afonso I
| Issuer | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1139-1185 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.6 g |
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| Obverse description | Crowned and draped bust of King Afonso I facing left within a beaded inner circle, the effigy rendered in a crude, stylized medieval manner characteristic of early Portuguese hammered coinage. Mint letters C-O (or possibly O-O) appear below the bust in the lower field. The circumferential Latin legend ALFONSVS runs around the periphery, though it is partially weak or off-flan due to irregular flan preparation. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Afonso Henriques, who became Afonso I following his victory at Ourique in 1139 — the battle after which he declared himself King of Portugal — issued this coinage as part of an immediate assertion of independent royal authority. Portugal had been a county under Leonese suzerainty; the dinheiro was among the first instruments of a monetarily sovereign, if still militarily precarious, new kingdom.
The billon composition reflects the chronic silver shortage that plagued Iberian minting throughout the twelfth century, a consequence of the ongoing Reconquista disrupting trade networks.