Gift from Portugal

[malj1]

An eBay seller added a small gift with my purchase...
[Common obverse below]

......also included as gift 3 small BU coins from Portugal.
Portugal has almost 900 years of history as independent kingdom
and we are proud to be the oldest European nation-state.
These 3 coins have the royal seal of 1134 from our first king D. Afonso Henriques.

[Arminius]

Many Portuguese coin designs show us that modern currency must not be always uninspired or even boring - especially concerning Euro issue obverses.



But that´s also a matter of personal taste.

[Figleaf]

You found a good trader. If I have the time, I also like to put in a few coins, just to awaken interest. I get very good feedback on such little gifts and the cost are quite low. Having spent quite a few of these coins, you tend to take them for granted. A nice enlargement puts them back into focus. Thanks, Arminius.

Peter

[chrisild]

The Portuguese euro and cent coins all have Afonso Henriques seals: The three "low value" pieces have the first one (1134 as you mentioned), the "mid range" coins have a seal from 1142, and the bimetallic pieces have the one from 1144. This - see below - is the one that we have not shown here yet. An odd side effect is that each coin has the country name twice: as part of the seals, and between the castles and shields. But yes, the designs are interesting - old without looking old-fashioned.

Christian