Ceitil of Afonso IV

The Ceitil under Afonso IV was the first Portuguese coin struck in copper, a bold shift from the silver and gold that dominated medieval mints.

This made it practical for small transactions in a kingdom still finding its economic footing. Weighing less than a modern paperclip, it carried a value of one-eighth a real, putting change into the hands of peasants and merchants alike. The design was simple: a cross on one side, perhaps the king's initials on the other, all hammered out in Lisbon's royal mint.

We don't know the exact mintage figures; records from that era are as scarce as the coins themselves. What survives shows variations in quality, likely due to inconsistent copper supplies from Spain.

Some say these coins funded the king's campaigns, but that's probably just another myth I've heard too often.