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 trace 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 at the end of the fourteenth century, when the Portuguese real was introduced into circulation by King Fernand I. This monetary unit was official in the country until 1911, it was subsequently replaced due to the revolution that took place in the country.
The Portuguese escudo, which existed as a state currency until 2002, replaced the real one. It was replaced by the single European currency, the euro. Escudo was divided into one hundred centavos.
Today, in Portugal, the official currency is the euro, so no problems with the exchange of money from people who arrived in the country.
Description
The modern currency of Portugal is outwardly identical to those euros that are in use in most countries of the European Union. One euro is one hundred cents. In circulation are metal coins in denominations from 0.01 to two €. Paper banknotes are issued in denominations of five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, two hundred and five hundred euros.
Experimentally, the euro was introduced for use in cashless transactions in January 1999, but cash began to be used in 2002. Portugal was one of the first countries to switch from a national currency to a European one. This transition was beneficial for the country in economic terms, since the national currency of Portugal was unstable and not very popular in the global currency market. The euro stabilized the financial structure in the country, as well as simplified exchange and other foreign exchange operations, making Portugal even more attractive for foreign tourists.
Exchange operations. Course
Old banknotes, whether real, escudo or one hundred centavo, can no longer be exchanged in the country, and it is not so easy to find. They are of interest to numismatists, bonist players 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, and not only in Portugal itself, but also in all countries that use this currency (these countries include 19 EU countries and 9 other European states). It does not matter in the territory of which of these countries the money was printed or exchanged, it is accepted everywhere.
In Portugal, you can easily exchange dollars, British pounds and some other banknotes. Rubles are somewhat 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 today is about sixty rubles, although it is unstable. For one ruble they give about 0.16 €. Compared to the American dollar, for one euro you can get about $ 1.1. Accordingly, for a dollar you will receive about 0.9 €.
Conclusion
Portugal is a very interesting and beautiful country, to which millions of tourists come annually, so the fact that the state currency of Portugal is the euro is very important. After all, this allows people not to worry about the exchange of money, eliminates a number of possible problems and difficulties. It was with this calculation that the Portuguese government decided to change the national currency to a pan-European one.
This financial reform has led to significant economic improvements in the country, although it has not made Portugal an advanced European power, but it has had an extremely positive effect on the financial situation. Portugal has ceased to be an outsider of the European Union, but income in the country is still lower than in Western Europe.
Russian tourists also benefit from the fact that in Portugal the euro is in official circulation. Despite the fact that this tourist destination is not in great demand among Russians, quite a lot of our compatriots come to the country. It is often more profitable for Russians to make a money exchange in Russia and come to Portugal already with dollars or euros. Of course, it is possible to bring rubles into the country, but the exchange rate may not be the most profitable, and it will not be possible to exchange money everywhere.