Sancho II's reign ended not in death but in deposition — the only Portuguese monarch removed from power by papal decree. Innocent IV's 1245 bull Grandi non immerito declared him unfit to rule, handing regency to his brother Afonso. Coins struck under Sancho after that point occupy a legally ambiguous space, issued by a king the Church no longer recognized.
The billon content in this series is notably debased even by medieval Iberian standards, reflecting chronic fiscal pressure from the Reconquista campaigns along the Alentejo frontier.
Sancho II's reign ended not in death but in deposition — the only Portuguese monarch removed from power by papal decree. Innocent IV's 1245 bull Grandi non immerito declared him unfit to rule, handing regency to his brother Afonso. Coins struck under Sancho after that point occupy a legally ambiguous space, issued by a king the Church no longer recognized.
The billon content in this series is notably debased even by medieval Iberian standards, reflecting chronic fiscal pressure from the Reconquista campaigns along the Alentejo frontier.