Pattern 2 Escudos 1920

This 1920 pattern 2 escudos was one of the first Portuguese coins to abandon monarchical symbols, opting instead for a simple republican eagle that never appeared on circulating currency.

Struck in Lisbon amid the early Republic's currency experiments, it used standard silver planchets, though records don't specify the exact alloy. We know it was part of a small trial series, but mintage figures vanished in Portugal's archival fires of the 1940s. That leaves collectors guessing about how many exist today.

The coin's obverse shows a clean-lined coat of arms, a nod to the 1910 revolution's austerity.

Some say it resembles a prototype that got shelved for being too plain.