The 2017 Portuguese Commemorative Coins were unveiled this week in the Casa da Moeda, where the themes, authors and designs for the commemorative, chain and collector's coins to be issued throughout the year were shown.
Among the novelties, a new series dedicated to Portuguese Architecture stands out, which includes a coin dedicated to Álvaro Siza Vieira designed by Eduardo Souto Moura, two great names in Portuguese architecture.
For the first time, a colorful currency will be produced in Portugal to honor the 150 Years of Public Security. Also unveiled was a collector's coin by designer Eduardo Aires that combines metal and acrylic to create a numismatic novelty which seeks to recreate the widespread use of iron and glass in 19th century architecture.
The ten coins that make up the 2017 slate were designed by several important figures of Portugal's contemporary visual arts, among them: José de Guimarães, Clara Menéres, André Carrilho, João Fazenda and Luís Filipe de Abreu. The designs cover themes including architecture, ethnography and national sport, among other values of Portuguese and international culture.
Throughout the year, the coin collection will be dedicated to Álvaro Siza Vieira (Portuguese Architecture series), the Olympic champion Carlos Lopes (Sports Icons series), the queen D. Maria Bárbara de Bragança (Queens of Europe series), the Centenary of the Apparitions of Fatima, Caretos de Trás-os-Montes (Portuguese Ethnography series), the natural wonders of the Island of Madeira (Ibero-American series), the Iron Age and Glass (Europe series - Ages of Europe) and "The Future" (Draw Money Series), while the paper currencies will mark the 150 Years of Public Security and the 150 Years since Raul Brandão's birth.