SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

Three coins of 1929

From São Tomé and Príncipe I have three different Copper-Nickel coins from 1929.

São Tomé and Príncipe 10 Centavos 1929
São Tomé and Príncipe 10 Centavos 1929 (scaled to approximately 250dpi)

São Tomé and Príncipe 20 Centavos 1929 
São Tomé and Príncipe 20 Centavos 1929 (scaled to approximately 250dpi)

São Tomé and Príncipe 50 Centavos 1929
São Tomé and Príncipe 50 Centavos 1929 (scaled to approximately 250dpi)


These coins all have the following design:-

Obverse – portrait of a woman in Phrygian cap facing right (the personification of the republic) with “REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA” and the date between two spacers below-around.
Reverse – the Portuguese coat of arms with two floral scrolls, “S. TOMÉ E PRINCIPE” and then in two lines the denomination (“10 CENTAVOS”, “20 CENTAVOS” or “50 CENTAVOS”).

There are a few further points to note regarding the obverse…

There is the incuse signature “REGO GR” near the base of the portrait. This is the signature of engraver Alves do Rego. The letters “GR” here are an abbreviation for “gravador” which is Portuguese for “engraver”. This is similar to how on modern Italian coins you can sometimes see a signature comprising a name followed by "INC.". This abbreviation is for “incisore”, the Italian word for “engraver”.

For each denomination the spacers, one to each side of the date “1929”, are different. Their shapes are as follows:-
10 Centavos – four lobes forming an “X” shape
20 Centavos – faint solid diamond with a large raised dot at each corner
50 Centavos – large four-part diamond spacer with small central raised dot

You should soon notice that the portrait on these coins is rather similar to that on the Portuguese 50 Centavos and 1 Escudo coins of 1927 to 1968. However on these Portuguese coins the portrait is right facing, not left facing; there are no other design elements below the portrait which gets very close to the rim; finally - on the Portuguese coins there is "SIMÕES" (for "José Simões de Almeida") in raised lettering as an additional signature, close to “REGO GR” on the portrait.
 

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Page added at May-2013.