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1978 Portugal 20 Escudos Banknote ST011195

$2.95 AUD

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SKU: 1978Portugal20EscudosST011195-WN1 Category:
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Here for sale is a 20 Escudos banknote issued by the Banco de Portugal in 1978.

These paper banknotes were the currency used before Portugal joined the European Union in 2002.

This note has been fairly heavily circulated but is still a good collection filler at a great price.

The banknote features Gago Coutinho the Portuguese aviation pioneer who made the first Atlantic crossing by plane.

Buy yourself a legend on a banknote here at Noteworthy Collectibles.

SKU

Design

1978 Portugal 20 Escudos ST011195
Date of Issue: 13 September 1978.
Issuer: Banco de Portugal
Obverse: Admiral Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho (17 February 1869 – 18 February 1959) with navigation tools, sextant, astrolabe and a direction corrector.
Reverse: Seaplane Fairey FIII-D MkII dubbed Lusitania, in which Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho left Lisbon on 30th of March 1922; Ship; Map outline of the route of the flight; Belém Tower (Torre De Belem) at the entrance of Tagus River leading to Lisbon.
Watermark: Admiral Gago Coutinho.
Original Size: 135 x 66 mm
Catalogue: Pick 176b

History

Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho, GCTE, GCC, generally known simply as Gago Coutinho 17 February 1869 – 18 February 1959) was a Portuguese aviation pioneer who, together with Sacadura Cabral (1881–1924), was the first to cross the South Atlantic Ocean by air, from March to June 1922 from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro.

The Fairey IIIB seaplane used by Coutinho and Cabral for their transatlantic flight did not have enough fuel capacity to make the entire trip unaided so various stops were made along the way and the aviators were shadowed by a support ship, República. On the journey down the Brazilian coast a heavy rain storm caused the aircraft’s engine to fail and the aviators were forced to ditch in the ocean. Realizing that something was wrong, the República sent out a distress signal asking other ships in the area to look out for the seaplane. After some time in the water, the aviators were found by a British freighter. The Paris City of the Reardon Smith Line, under Captain A.E. Tamlyn, en route from Cardiff to Rio, rescued Coutinho and Cabral; they completed their journey with a new aircraft. A commemorative painting of the rescue was produced by the Portuguese comic artist, José Stuart Carvalhais (‘Stuart’). Gago Coutinho invented a type of sextant incorporating two spirit levels to provide an artificial horizon. This adaptation of the traditional marine sextant allowed navigation without visual reference to the real horizon. He also invented an optical flight instrument, to be mounted on the plane’s cockpit floor, which measures leeway in flight whenever ground remains visible.

*All biographical details are taken from Wikipedia for education purposes only.

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