Currency of Portugal: description, brief history and course

Portugal is a country with a rich history and culture, so it is not surprising that the currency of Portugal also has an impressive history of its development and change. In this article, you can briefly follow the path of Portuguese money from the XV century. up to this day.

Short story

The history of the national currency in the country begins back in the late 14th century, when King Fernand I put into circulation the Portuguese real. This monetary unit was official in the country until 1911, later it was replaced because of the revolution in the country.

To replace the real, came the Portuguese escudo, which existed as a state currency until 2002. It was replaced by a single euro euro currency. The escudo was divided into one hundred centavo.

To date, in Portugal, the official currency is the euro, so no problems with the exchange of money from arriving people in the country does not arise.

Description

The modern currency of Portugal is externally identical to those euros that are in progress in most EU countries. One euro is equal to one hundred cents. In circulation there are metal coins of denomination from 0.01 to two €. Paper banknotes are issued in nominal value of five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, two hundred and five hundred euros.

Experimentally, the euro was introduced for use in non-cash transactions as early as January 1999, but cash was used in 2002. Portugal became one of the first countries to switch from the national currency to the European one. This transition was profitable for the country in economic terms, since the state currency of Portugal was unstable and not very popular in the world foreign exchange market. The euro stabilized the financial structure in the country, and also simplified exchange and other foreign exchange operations, making Portugal even more attractive for foreign tourists.

Exchange transactions. Course

Old bank notes, whether real, escudo or one hundred centavo, can not be exchanged in the country, and it is not so easy to find. They are of interest for numismatists, bonists and collectors. For ordinary people, this money has no value, except as an extraordinary souvenir.

But the euro, which is the official currency in the state, is used everywhere, not only in Portugal itself, but also in the territories of all countries that use this currency (these countries include 19 EU countries and 9 other European countries). It does not matter in which of these countries the money was printed or exchanged, they are accepted everywhere.

In Portugal, you can easily exchange dollars, British pounds and some other banknotes. Rubles are slightly more difficult to exchange, although many banks and exchange offices work with this Russian currency, the commission can be very high, so it is better to exchange rubles in advance for dollars or euros.

The exchange rate for today is about sixty rubles, although it is unstable. For one ruble they give about 0,16 €. In comparison with the US dollar for one euro can get about 1.1 $. Accordingly, for a dollar you will receive about 0,9 €.

Conclusion

Portugal is a very interesting and beautiful country, in which millions of tourists come every year, so the fact that the state currency of Portugal is the euro is very important. After all, it allows people not to worry about the exchange of money, excludes a number of possible problems and difficulties. It was with this calculation that the Portuguese government decided to change the national currency to the pan-European one.

This financial reform has led to significant economic improvements in the country, although not making Portugal an advanced European power, but having influenced the financial situation extremely positively. Portugal has ceased to be an outsider of the European Union, but the income in the country is still lower than in the countries of Western Europe.

Russian tourists also benefit from the fact that in Portugal, the official circulation is the euro. Despite the fact that among the Russians this tourist destination is not in high demand, quite a lot of our compatriots come to the country. It is often more profitable for Russians to exchange money in Russia and to come to Portugal already with dollars or euros. You can bring rubles to the country, of course, you can, but the rate may not be the most profitable, and you will not be able to exchange money anywhere.