🪙 🦕 A new collector coin soon in your wallet? 🇵🇹

The Bank of Portugal has just announced (25 May 2023) that a collector coin with a face value of €5 will be put into circulation from 1 June 2023.

Only 30,000 of these rare coins will be produced, and they can be used as a means of payment only in Portugal.

A dinosaur is depicted on the obverse side - with the scientific name of the species: "Miragaia longicollum" - alongside trees, while the reverse side features the skeleton of the extinct reptile, the value of the coin (€5), the coat of arms of Portugal and the inscription "Portugal 2023".

A bit of History... Portugal's coat of arms, officially adopted on 30 June 1911, is based on the old monarchical coats of arms in the following form: 5 shields in cross Azure, each shield charged with 5 bezants in saltire Argent and a border with 7 castles in gold, each with a keep of 3 towers.

This rare coin will be distributed to the public through the treasury departments of the Bank of Portugal, credit institutions and the Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda (INCM), which is responsible for minting coins in Portugal.

🦕 Did you say Miragaia longicollum?

Yes, yes, it's a dinosaur from the Stegosauridae family.

The name refers to the Portuguese town of Miragaia (a village attached to the town of Lourinhã, in the district of Lisbon), close to which the best-preserved skeleton in Europe was discovered.

The giant weighed between 1 and 2 tonnes and was around 6 metres long.

It had an exceptionally long neck (for a stegosaurid) with at least 17 cervical vertebrae, at least 8 more than in ornithischiensbasaux.

Miragaia lived in Portugal 150 million years ago at the end of the Upper Jurassic.

"Miragaia longicollum" moeda de 5 euros / reprodução/Banco de Portugal.

The specifications of this part were approved by Executive Decree 117/2023, published in the Journal officiel, 1ère série - n° 90, of 10 May 2023.

💶 When did the € come into force in Portugal?

On 1 January 2002, many Portuguese lined up outside the Bank of Portugal's headquarters in Lisbon to exchange their escudos for euros.