Portuguese Sao Tomé & Principe coins (periods) [résolu]

Hello everyone:

Sao Tomé & Principe coins belonging to the Portuguese period (monetary unit Escudo), belongs to two different periods indicated on the data sheet of each coin:
1. Colony of the Portuguese Empire (1910-1951)
2. Overseas province of Portugual (1951-1975)

The coins dated exactly 1951 are right in the middle of both periods, and in all of them it indicates the period "Colony of the Portuguese Empire (1910-1951)"

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces36189.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces36190.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces24518.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces14453.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18996.html

Taking into account that in this year just the status of the Colony changed, and that in previous coins of these values ​​the word "Colony" clearly indicates on the obverse, is it possible that these coins were made just to indicate the change of status and that belong to the period "Overseas province of Portugual (1951-1975)"?

Please see if someone who can clarify this issue for us.

Regards, Oscar

Thank you for mentioning this issue.

In 1951 Portugal rebranded all of its colonies as overseas provinces because the term colony had a (justifiable) bad name internationally. Of the eight only three have coins from 1951 listed in Numista: Mozambique, Sao Tomé & Principe, and Timor. Mozambique and Timor specify "colony" on the coins, but in all cases the types were also issued before 1951 (and not after).

I didn't find a reference to the specific date of the official transition or a date when the 1951 coins were issued.

The Every Country list considers the 1951 coins to be Overseas province coins, and that's what I will do for my collection notes unless someone comes up with strong evidence the other way.

(I didn't check whether the Ruling authority field values for all eight territories have a 1951 change.)

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_province
https://groups.io/g/everycountry

I comment on this topic again since I have been able to find Law 2:048 of June 11, 1951, this being, apparently, the date of change of status of the Portuguese Colonies. 

 

I believe that the 1951 São Tomé coins belong to the Ultramarine Provinces period, what do you think?

 

Reference:

https://files.dre.pt/1s/1951/06/11701/04070412.pdf

The law that abolishes the designation COLÓNIA throughout the Portuguese Empire is actually from 1951. 

In the case of S. Tomé and Principe, the last coins issued with the lettering COLÓNIA DE S.TOMÉ E PRÍNCIPE are from 1948. 

The new series issued in 1951 It no longer has the name COLONIA. 

The same happened in all other territories administered by Portugal, except in Timor where there is a series of coins, 10 Avos, 20 Avos and 50 Avos with dates of 1945, 1948 and 1951. This is due to the fact that the 1951 coins having been designed and minted  the previous year (Lisbon mint house) in order to be in TIMOR at the beginning of 1951. It should be remembered that TIMOR is on the other side of the world and, at that time, communications were very poor; There were normally one or two ships per year connecting Timor to Portugal.

monge

The law that abolishes the designation COLÓNIA throughout the Portuguese Empire is actually from 1951. 

In the case of S. Tomé and Principe, the last coins issued with the lettering COLÓNIA DE S.TOMÉ E PRÍNCIPE are from 1948. 

The new series issued in 1951 It no longer has the name COLONIA. 

The same happened in all other territories administered by Portugal, except in Timor where there is a series of coins, 10 Avos, 20 Avos and 50 Avos with dates of 1945, 1948 and 1951. This is due to the fact that the 1951 coins having been designed and minted  the previous year (Lisbon mint house) in order to be in TIMOR at the beginning of 1951. It should be remembered that TIMOR is on the other side of the world and, at that time, communications were very poor; There were normally one or two ships per year connecting Timor to Portugal.

Thanks monge for the information. So it seems to be, if I have not understood it incorrectly, that these 5 coins from Sao Tomé e Principe dated 1951 must belong to the Ultramarine Province period and not to the Colonia period, which is how they are now.

 

I see that you are the referee of Sao Tomé, I think it will be easier for you to make these modifications yourself than someone to make a modification request.

 

Thank you all!!! 😀