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Name of Country Using the Euro: Portugal Population: 10 million Currency used before the Euro: Escudos Date currency expired: Feb. 28, 2002 In Portugal, 1 euro = 200.482 Escudos Interesting facts about Portugal and its money: • Portugal's money used to be called escudo. • Portugal supplied Spain with gold. • On the national face of the one, two, and five coin, there is a picture of the Royal Seal of 1134. • On the national face of the ten, twenty, and fifty cent euro, there is a picture of the Royal Seal of 1142. • On the national face of the one and two euros, there is a picture of the Castles and Coats of Arms surrounding the Royal Seal of 1144. • Between 1128 and 1185, Alphonse I was the King of Portugal. His name was D. Afonso Henriques and the people think of him as the founder of the Portuguese kingdom. That's why the Royal Seals from his reign are on the euros. • The designer for the Potuguese euro was Vítor Manuel Fernandes dos Santos. • Portugal is surrounded by one country participating in the euro: Spain. This coin is worth 2 Euro. There is a coat of armor and castles. Castles and Coats of Arms surround the Royal Seal of 1144. You can see both sides of each Portuguese euro by clicking here. To see the national side of all the Portugese coins, click here. To learn more about Portugal, click here. To learn about Portuguese currency, check out A Short History of the Portuguese Currency