The escudo was the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...

 between 1914 and 1977. It was equivalent to the Portuguese escudo

Portuguese escudo

The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos....

 and subdivided into 100 centavo

Centavo

Centavo is a Spanish and Portuguese word, derived from the Latin centum, meaning "one hundred", and the suffix -avo, meaning "portion" or "fraction"...

s.

History

The escudo replaced the real

São Tomé and Príncipe real

The real was the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe until 1914. It was equivalent to the Portuguese real. Coins were issued specifically for São Tomé and Príncipe until 1825 and banknotes were issued for the colony beginning in 1897...

 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

São Tomé and Príncipe dobra

The dobra is the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe. It is abbreviated Db and is divided into 100 cêntimos, although inflation has rendered the cêntimo obsolete. The dobra was introduced in 1977, replacing the escudo at par....

 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 2½, 5 and 10 escudos. Bronze 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 escudo, and cupro-nickel 2½ 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 introduced notes for 10, 20 and 50 centavos, followed by 5 centavos notes in 1918. In 1921, larger denominations of 1, 2½, 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.