portugal - Portuguese escudos

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The Portuguese Escudo is the currency of Portugal. Until the introduction of the euro in 2002, 100 centavos made up escudo. Its symbol, similar to the US Dollar ($) except for with 2 bars instead of one, was called the cifrao. Inflation made the currency virtually irrelevant, and centavo coins were withdrawn from circulation. Prior to its elimination, the exchange rate was 200.482 to one euro. The last 100-escudo note showed a portrait of Fernando Pessoa, a famous Portuguese writer.