The escudo was the currency of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

between 1914 and 1977. It was equivalent to the

Portuguese escudo The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as w ...

and subdivided into 100

centavo The centavo (Spanish and Portuguese 'one hundredth') is a fractional monetary unit that represents one hundredth of a basic monetary unit in many countries around the world. The term comes from Latin ''centum'', ('one hundred'), with the added suf ...

History

The escudo replaced the

real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

at a rate of 1000 réis = 1 escudo. Initially, only banknotes were issued in the name of São Tomé and Príncipe and the colony used Portuguese coins. Only in 1929 were coins also issued for the colony. The escudo was replaced at par by the dobra following independence.

Coins

In 1929, nickel-bronze 10, 20 and 50 centavos coins were introduced. These were followed in 1939 by cupro-nickel 1 escudo and silver , 5 and 10 escudos. Bronze 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 escudo, and cupro-nickel escudos were introduced in 1962, followed, in 1971, by aluminium 10 centavos and cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 escudos. This was the last year of coin production.

Banknotes

In 1914, the

Banco National Ultramarino Banco Nacional Ultramarino (, BNU; ; en, National Overseas Bank) is a Macau banking and financial services corporation. It was a Portuguese bank with operations throughout the world, especially in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased e ...

introduced notes for 10, 20 and 50 centavos, followed by 5 centavos notes in 1918. In 1921, larger denominations of 1, , 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 escudos were introduced. 500 escudos were introduced in 1956, followed by 1000 escudos in 1964. Between 1974 and 1976, the Banco Nacional de São Tomé e Príncipe issued bearer cheques for circulation in denominations of 100, 500 and 1000 escudos. In 1976, the Banco Nacional also issued notes of the Banco National Ultramarino, overprinted with the new bank's name, in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 escudos.

References

* * Currencies of Portugal Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of São Tomé and Príncipe Economic history of Portugal 1914 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 1977 disestablishments History of São Tomé and Príncipe Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe Escudo {{Portugal-stub