Portuguese real
Portugal’s unit of account from the reign of Duarte until the escudo replaced it in 1911 at 1, 000 réis to one escudo.
- Use in Portugal
- Attested by 1435; replaced in 1911
- Where
- Portugal; transplanted to Brazil
- Successor conversion
- 1 escudo = 1,000 réis · 22 May 1911
- Ancestry branch
- Roman solidus
Its place in the family
Trace ancestors and descendants ↗Select a name for its history or a dated connection for its evidence.
The story
Under Duarte, Portuguese state accounts shifted from the libra to the real around 1435–1436. This was a practical change in accounting; no single formal replacement ordinance is known. Earlier real coins do not, by themselves, date the start of the real as the principal unit of account. [1] [2] [3]
Portuguese accounting travelled to Brazil, where réis became embedded in local monetary arrangements and debts. Seventeenth-century devaluation and provincial reforms document the differentiation of the Brazilian branch. [4]
On 22 May 1911, Portugal established the escudo at 1, 000 réis to one escudo. The change replaced the principal account unit and gives the real a documented successor. [5]
Turning points
Sources and evidence
- Banco de Portugal · Boletim Notas e Moedas, October 2010 C1010 ↗
- Pedro Puntoni · Da libra ao real: sobre a formação do sistema monetário português (1185–1580), Revista de História178 (2019), DOI10.11606/issn.2316-9141.rh.2019.141351 C1800 ↗
- Pedro Puntoni · Da libra ao real: sobre a formação do sistema monetário português (1185–1580), Revista de História178 (2019), DOI10.11606/issn.2316-9141.rh.2019.141351 C1942 ↗
- Fernando Carlos G. de Cerqueira Lima · Uma análise crítica da literatura sobre a oferta e a circulação de moeda metálica no Brasil nos séculos XVI e XVII, Estudos Econômicos 35(1),169–201 (2005); Fernando Carlos Greenhalgh de Cerqueira Lima · A Lei de cunhagem de 4 de agosto de 1688 e a emissão de moeda provincial no Brasil (1695–1702), Revista de Economia Contemporânea 9(2), 2005; Fernando Carlos G. de C. Lima · Um conto de réis: a proclamação da moeda do império português em Malaca, RBEMF IE-UFRJ3(1),2025 C1796 ↗
- Banco de Portugal · Boletim Notas e Moedas, October 2010 C1011 ↗
- Fernando Carlos G. de Cerqueira Lima · Uma análise crítica da literatura sobre a oferta e a circulação de moeda metálica no Brasil nos séculos XVI e XVII, Estudos Econômicos 35(1),169–201 (2005); Fernando Carlos G. de C. Lima · Um conto de réis: a proclamação da moeda do império português em Malaca, RBEMF IE-UFRJ3(1),2025 C1779 ↗
Open the complete research record →
Full claims, evidence coverage, corrections and earlier interpretations are kept separately.
Cite this page
“Portuguese real.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/FTM000053.html