The national sides of Portuguese euro coins were inspired by the seals of Dom Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. The dates shift with the values, turning a handful of change into a tiny historical sequence.
Paper money
Euro notes follow an easy architectural colour ladder - grey €5, red €10, blue €20, orange €50, green €100 and yellow €200 - wherever you spend them in Europe.
The euro banknote theme is imagined European architecture rather than real monuments: windows and gateways move from classical to modern styles, while bridges on the reverse suggest connection. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.
Three seals, one founding king
The smallest coins start the story
The copper-coloured cent pieces carry the earliest seal and the word Portugal. Their low spending value hides the oldest date in the set, so the historical journey begins with the coins most easily overlooked.
Castles and shields ring the largest values
On the EUR 1 and EUR 2 coins, the 1144 seal sits among the country's castles and coats of arms, all framed by the twelve European stars. It connects the founding image of Portugal with the shared currency around it.
The edge finishes the picture
The banknotes belong to the whole euro area
A Portuguese EUR 20 note has the same design as one found in France or Finland. The local story lives on the national side of the coins, not on a separate family of Portuguese euro banknotes.
Learn the colour, then check the security
Our original illustrations make denomination, colour and relative size memorable without reproducing legal tender. For a real note, check raised print, watermark, security thread and hologram using the European Central Bank's security guidance.