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Portugal
1955 Silver 10 Escudos 30mm (12.00 grams)
0.835 Silver (0.3356 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 586 | Engraver: João da
Silva (1954-55)
REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA, Ship with sails going left; year
below.
10 Esc, Portuguese shield above armillary sphere.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of
Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
  Portugal,
officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República
Portuguesa), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern
Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by
the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east.
The Portugal-Spain border is 1,214 km (754 mi) long and considered the
longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. The republic also
includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both
autonomous regions with their own regional governments.
 The
territory of modern Portugal has been continuously settled, invaded and
fought over since prehistoric times. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Phoenicians,
Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the
Visigothic and the Suebi Germanic peoples, who were themselves later invaded
by the Moors. These Muslim peoples were eventually expelled during the
Christian Reconquista. Portuguese nationality can be traced back to
the creation of the First County of Portugal, in 868. In 1139, Afonso
Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, thus firmly establishing
Portuguese independence, under the Portuguese House of Burgundy.
In
the 15th and 16th centuries, under the House of Aviz, which took power
following the 1383-85 Crisis, Portugal expanded Western influence and
established the first global empire, becoming one of the world’s major
economic, political and military powers. During this time, Portuguese
explorers pioneered maritime exploration in the Age of Discovery, notably
under royal patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator and King João II, with
such notable discoveries as Vasco da Gama’s sea route to India (1497-98),
Pedro Álvares Cabral’s discovery of Brazil (1500), and Bartolomeu Dias’s
reaching of the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal monopolized the spice trade
during this time, under royal command of the Casa da Índia, and the
Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia, notably
under Afonso de Albuquerque, who was known as the “Caesar of the East”.
The destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, the country’s occupation
during the Napoleonic Wars, the independence of Brazil (1822), and the
Liberal Wars (1828-1834), all left Portugal crippled from war and diminished
in its world power. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the
democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, later
being superseded by the “Estado Novo” right-wing authoritarian regime.
Democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation
Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to all its
colonies and East Timor, with the exception of Macau, which was handed over
to China in 1999. This marked the end of the longest-lived European colonial
empire, leaving a profound cultural and architectural influence across the
globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today.
Portugal is a developed country with a high-income advanced economy and high
living standards. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world,
maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government. It
has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other
Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. It is a member of
numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the
European Union, the eurozone, OECD, NATO and the Community of Portuguese
Language Countries. Portugal is also known for having decriminalized the
usage of all common drugs in 2001, the first country in the world to do so.
However, the sale and distribution of these drugs is still illegal in
Portugal.
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