Guinea 10 Centavos

The 10 centavos coin for Portuguese Guinea was struck using bronze planchets, a practical choice amid the metal shortages of the First World War.

That decision reflected broader wartime economies in colonial minting. Issued between 1917 and 1920, these coins circulated in what was then a remote outpost of the Portuguese Empire. The obverse bore the standard Portuguese coat of arms, while the reverse simply stated "Guinea" alongside the denomination. No fancy designs here; it was straightforward currency for trade in rice and palm oil.

Exact mintage figures? They're murky. Colonial records from Lisbon weren't always meticulous, and many documents vanished over the years. If you handle one, note the edge is plain, unlike some contemporaries with reeding to deter clipping.

Collectors sometimes puzzle over its scarcity today. It turns up less often than you'd expect, perhaps because Guinea's humid climate wasn't kind to copper alloys. As for confusion with similar Spanish colonial pieces, well, that's a tale as old as borders.