PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC
PORTUGUESE DISCOVERY SERIES
COMMEMORATING EXPLORER PEDRO ÁLVARES CABRAL
AND THE 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF BRAZIL
PALLADIUM 200 ESCUDO COIN CERTIFIED BY NGC PROOF 69 ULTRA CAMEO
ONLY 500 MINTED!
OBV: 11 SHIPS AT ANCHOR (9 CARRACKS AND 2 CARAVELS); SHIELD OF ARMS OF PORTUGAL UPPER LEFT; DATE AND DENOMINATION AT BOTTOM.
REV: PORTRAIT BUST OF A HELMETED CABRAL RIGHT WITH MAP OF THE COASTLINE OF BRAZIL IN BACKGROUND AND ANCHOR MARKING PORTO SEGURO WHERE THE FIRST LANDING TOOK PLACE; LEGEND “BRASIL 1500” AT EDGE LOWER RIGHT.
KM # 717d
PEDRO ÁLVARES CABRAL (b. 1467/68 – d. 1520) WAS A PORTUGUESE NOBLEMAN, MILITARY COMMANDER, NAVIGATOR, AND EXPLORER. HE IS REGARDED AS THE DISCOVERER OF BRAZIL, AND THE FIRST TO LEAD A SUBTANTIAL EXPLORATION OF THE NORTHEAST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA. HE IS ALSO CREDITED AS THE FIRST CAPTAIN TO TOUCH FOUR CONTINENTS (EUROPE, AFRICA, AMERICA, AND ASIA).
IN 1499, MANUEL I, KING OF PORTUGAL, MADE CABRAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF A FLEET OF 13 SHIPS WITH THE GOAL TO SAIL TO INDIA, TO RETURN WITH VALUABLE SPICES AND ESTABLISH TRADE RELATIONS. IT IS SUSPECTED BY MANY THAT HIS JOURNEY TO THE WEST OF THE SOUTHERN ATLANTIC OCEAN WAS PLANNED, SINCE THE EXPLORER VASCO de GAMA HAD MADE NOT OF LAND SIGHTED THERE ON HIS VOYAGE. WHETHER PLANNED OR NOT, THE FLEET MADE LANDFALL ON WHAT WAS AT FIRST PRESUMED TO BE A LARGE ISLAND, BUT CABRAL QUICKLY SURMISED AFTER EXPLORING THE COASTLINE THAT THE NEW LAND WAS A CONTINENT. THE PORTUGUESE LANDED IN THE YEAR 1500 AT PORTO SEGURO (SAFE HARBOR) IN WHAT LATER BECAME KNOWN AS BRAZIL, AND CABRAL CLAIMED THE LAND FOR THE CROWN OF PORTUGAL. AFTER REPROVISIONING, AND ESTABLISHING PEACEFUL FIRST CONTACT WITH SOME NATIVE TRIBES, THE FLEET SAILED ON TO INDIA.
CABRAL SENT ONE SHIP HOME TO ANNOUNCE TO THE KING HIS DISCOVERY, AND SEVERAL SHIPS WERE LOST CROSSING THE ATLANTIC IN A STORM, BUT THE REMAINING SIX SHIPS REACHED CALICUT IN INDIA. INITIALLY SUCCESFUL IN NEGOTIATING TRADE RIGHTS, CABRAL INCURRED THE WRATH OF ARAB MERCHANTS SEEKING TO PROTECT THEIR TRADE MONOPOLY. THE PROTUGUESE WERE ATTACKED BY BOTH MUSLIMS AND HINDUS, BUT CABRAL TOOK VENGEANCE BY LOOTING AND SINKING THE ARAB FLEET AND BOMBARDING THE CITY. AFTER BEFRIENDING ANOTHER CITY-STATE, CABRAL’S SHIPS WERE LOADED WITH SPICES, AND THE REMAINDER OF THE EXPEDITION SAILED HOME. THE SALE OF THE SPICES STRENGTHENED THE FINANCES OF THE CROWN, AND THAT OF THE DISCOVERY OF BRAZIL, LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE EMPIRE.
CONTAINS 31.12 GRAMS OF .9995 PALLADIUM (1 OZ APW)
ONLY 500 MINTED!
ENGRAVER RAUL de SOUSA MACHADO
IMPRENSA NACIONAL CASA DE MOEDA MINT
