A coin-souvenir from Portugal
Magnets, trivets made of ceramics and cork, cheeses and presunto, port, kitchen towels are traditional souvenirs from Portugal. However, there are also some that you can't buy in a regular store! Catch the idea!
Want an unusual souvenir from Portugal? Go to the Mint / Casa da Moeda. Or go to numismatist. The Mint constantly produces some collectible or commemorative coins. There are both ordinary coins (costing 2-2.5 euros per piece) and silver (50 euros per piece) or gold (800-900 euros per piece). Ordinary coins can be used in Portugal, silver and gold cannot.
As an example, here are 6 coins from the “Portuguese Ethnography” series !
1️⃣— the main photo takes us to the city of Barcelos, where funny clay figures are made, including a rooster. The rooster is the same symbol of Portugal that you will see in every souvenir shop in the country, associated with a beautiful legend about the triumph of justice!
2️⃣— espigueiros, traditional storages of ears of corn from the center and north of Portugal;
3️⃣— wooden carved yokes for a pair of oxen, from the north of the country. By the way, they are often used to decorate restaurants and houses in that area or used as part of furniture;
4️⃣— embroidery motifs of bedspreads from the city of Castelo Branco;
5️⃣— «arrecadas» earrings, made in the filigree technique, from the coastal city of Viana do Castelo;
6️⃣— remnants of pagan Celtic culture, masks and costumes of men from Carnival in the northwest of the country. Carnival is essentially the farewell to winter and the welcome of a new life cycle superimposed on the Christian church calendar.
How do you like this idea of souvenirs?
Publication date: 01 July, 2019