The dinheiro was the

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

from around the late 12th century until approximately 1502. For accounting purposes, twelve dinheiros equalled one ''

soldo The soldo was an Italian silver coin, issued for the first time in the late 12th century at Milan by Emperor Henry VI. The name derives from the late Roman coin '' solidus''. History It quickly became widespread in Italy, where it was coine ...

'' and twenty soldos equal one ''

libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

'' (pound). The basis of the monetary system was that of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

(denarii, solidi, librae). The first Portuguese

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, 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 to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

s were issued by the first king,

Afonso I Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...

. Some time after 1179, he ordered the issue of coins in denominations of half a dinheiro (called a ''mealha'') and one dinheiro. They were copied from the

Spanish dinero The dinero (diner in Catalan) was the currency of many of the Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula from the 10th century. It evolved from the Carolingian Empire, Carolingian denar (in Latin denarius) and was adopted by all Iberian Peninsula ...

and were consequently minted in

billon Billon may refer to: * Billon (alloy), a metal alloy containing mostly copper or bronze with small quantity of silver People *Claudius Billon (1896–1944), French air force officer *Jean-Louis Billon (born 1964), Ivorian politician *Jonathan Le ...

. These circulated alongside

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

siliqua The siliqua (. siliquas or siliquae) is the modern namegiven without any ancient evidence to confirm the designationto small, thin, Roman silver coins produced in the 4th century and later. When the coins were in circulation, the Latin word wa ...

e and

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

dirhem The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivision in Jordan, Libya, Qatar and Tajikistan. It was historicall ...

and

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

. Around 1200, Sancho I also introduced the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

''morabitino'' (from the Muslim maravedi), worth 15 soldos. A century later, in the reign of King

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

, the

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

''tornês'' was introduced, worth soldos. In 1380, King Ferdinand I introduced several new coins. There were gold ''dobra'', worth 6 libras, silver ''

real Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rathe ...

'' worth 10 soldos and various billon denominations, some of whose names related to war equipment used by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

who helped Portugal in the war against Castile, such as the ''pilarte'' worth seven dinheiros. During the reign of King João I, a new real was introduced, known either as the "real of libras" or the " real branco". With a value of 70 soldos, this was to become the unit of account by the beginning of the reign of João I's successor (King Duarte I) in 1433. Note that in modern

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, the word "dinheiro" means "

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

References

{{Portal bar, Money Currencies of Europe Economic history of Portugal 1433 disestablishments in Portugal Medieval history of Portugal Medieval currencies Currencies of Portugal 1128 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Portugal Dinar