The escudo was the currency of
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the ...
between 1959 and 1976. It replaced the
pataca at a rate of 5.6 escudos = 1 pataca and was equivalent to the
Portuguese escudo. It was replaced by the
Indonesian rupiah at an unknown exchange rate following
East Timor's occupation by
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. The escudo was subdivided into 100 ''centavos''.
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
(formerly Portuguese Timor) now uses the
United States dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
banknote
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes were originally issued ...
s and has its own
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
in circulation.
Coins
The first coins issued, dated 1958, were in denominations of 10, 30 and 60 centavos, 1, 3 and 6 escudos. The unusual denominations (see also the banknotes, below) may have been due to the exchange rate from the previous currency. The 10 and 30 centavos were struck in bronze, the 60 centavos and 1 escudo in cupro-nickel, and the 3 and 6 escudos in silver. In 1964, a silver 10 escudos was introduced, followed, in 1970, by more conventional denominations of 20 and 50 centavos, 1, , 5 and 10 escudos. The 20 and 50 centavos and 1 escudo were struck in bronze, with the higher denominations struck in cupro-nickel.
Banknotes
The first banknotes, dated 1959, were in denominations of 30, 60, 100 and 500 escudos. In 1967, 20 and 50 escudos notes were introduced, followed by 1000 escudos in 1968. All paper money was issued by the
Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (, BNU; ; en, National Overseas Bank) is a Macau banking and financial services corporation. It was a Portuguese bank with operations throughout the world, especially in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased e ...
.
See also
*
Cifrão
References
*
*
{{Escudo
Currencies of East Timor
Economy of East Timor
Portuguese Timor
Modern obsolete currencies
Economic history of Portugal
1959 establishments in Portuguese Timor
1976 disestablishments
Escudo