Portugal

2013

Commemorative coin

250th anniversary of the construction of ‘Torre dos Clérigos’ in Oporto

Official Journal of the European Union

The tower is depicted as it can be seen by the people on the street when standing close to it, side by side with the typical Oporto skyline as seen from Douro River south bank. At the top, in semi-circle, the inscription ‘250 ANOS TORRE DOS CLÉRIGOS — 2013’. At the bottom right, the Portuguese coat of arms and underneath the indication of the issuing country ‘PORTUGAL’. At the left, the mint mark and the name of the artist ‘INCM — HUGO MACIEL’. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

The Church of the Clergy was built in 1732-1750, its baroque bell tower, adorned with a sculpture of the early Christian theologian and missionary Paul of Tarsus († ≈67), in 1754-1763 by the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni for the religious community Irmandade dos Clérigos Pobres. At almost 76 m high, the tower once served as an orientation aid for seafarers; today it is the city's landmark. The coin design also shows the striking Ponte Dom Luís I bridge over the Douro, completed in 1886, under which - as in the coat of arms of Portugal - the coat of arms is depicted on an armillary sphere. The historic centre of Porto has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Edge lettering

Designer