Escudo de Ouro de D. Afonso V

Gold coins from King Afonso V's reign in Portugal, spanning 1438 to 1481, often featured the king's bust on one side, a design that directly linked the currency to royal authority and helped standardize weights across trade routes. These pieces, possibly precursors to later types like the cruzado, were struck from gold sourced from West African mines, reflecting Portugal's early forays into colonial wealth. While exact minting locations remain debated—Lisbon is a likely candidate—surviving examples show crude edges from hand-hammering, a technique that sometimes left them uneven. We don't know the precise circulation numbers; archives from that era were probably destroyed in later conflicts. That said, handling one of these can feel like gripping a piece of the Age of Discovery, minus the romance. No one mistook them for modern currency back then, but try explaining that to a collector who thinks every old coin hides a pirate's secret.