Portuguese real
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The real (meaning: royal, plural: réis) was the unit of currency of Portugal from around 1500 until 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself replaced by the escudo (as a result of the Republican revolution of 1910) at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis.
The first real was struck by Ferdinand I in around 1380.[1] It was silver and had a value of 120 dinheiros (10 soldos). Later, variations were issued including the real cruzado of 9 dinheiros, the real grosso of 11 dinheiros, the real branco of 3½ libras and the real preto of 7 soldos (one tenth of a real branco). By the beginning of the reign of King João I in 1433, the real branco (equivalent to 840 dinheiros) had become the unit of account in Portugal. From the reign of Manuel I, the name was simplified to "real", coinciding with the switch to minting real coins from copper.
Many different denominations were minted over the subsequent centuries, often with values in terms of the real which increased over time. For example, the cruzado was introduced at a value of 324 real branco in the reign of João II. It was fixed at a value of 400 réis during João III's reign and this remained the value of the silver cruzado until the reign of Pedro II, when it was revalued to 480 réis. Meanwhile, the gold cruzado rose in value to 750 réis in the reign of João IV, then to 875 réis in the reign of Alfonso V before its demise. Two denominations which did not change their values were the vintém of 20 réis and the tostão of 100 réis.
The last one real coins were issued in the 1580s. After this time, the smallest coins were worth 1½ réis. These were minted until around 1750, after which the three réis coin became the smallest circulating denomination. From the early 18th century, the standard gold coin was the peça, valued at 6400 réis (7500 réis after 1826).
In 1837, a decimal system was adopted, with coins of 3 to 20 réis in copper (bronze from 1882), 50 to 1000 réis in silver and 1000 to 10,000 réis in gold. One million réis was by then called a conto de réis. This term survived the introduction of the escudo to mean 1000 escudos and is now used to mean five euros, almost exactly the converted value of 1000 escudos or one million réis.
Coins and banknotes were also issued denominated in réis for use in the different parts of the Portuguese empire. See: Angolan real, Azorean real, Brazilian real, Cape Verde real, Mozambican real, Portuguese Guinea real and São Tomé and Príncipe real. Brazil has revived the real as the denomination of its present currency.
| Preceded by Portuguese dinheiro |
Portuguese currency 1433-1911 |
Succeeded by Portuguese escudo |
