CTT  presents this Saturday, 8th of August, a philatelic issue  with five stamps portraying the coins minted in Portuguese territory during pre-national times, portraying 1350 years of the peninsular Western history, from Antiquity to Middle Ages; the pre-Roman coin, the Roman coin, Suevi, Visigoth and Islamic coins.

According to Mário de Gouveia, from Imprensa Nacional – Casa da Moeda (National Mint), “ the coin is an object that allows us to make a wonderful journey through time. In its multiple forms, it speaks to us of politics and institutions, economy and society, language and culture and even of religion and philosophy. Art and technique are joint in a perfect way in this portable and everlasting object whose sides comprehend keys that decipher history  . […]”

The pre-Roman coin links the indigenous and Mediterranean culture and evokes symbols connected to old myths and sea legends; the Roman coin depicts objects linked to cults where the  princeps represents the political and religious unity of the Roman Empire; the Suevi coin has the name of one king,  a Barbarian Christian king who for the first time in history and seeking for legitimacy, orders coins to be minted  with its his own name; in the Visigoth coin the cross and the kind recall that royalty is a sacred institution and that the king is an warrior inseparable of ancient traditions; and lastly the Islamic coin which and according to the Islamic revelation, evokes All?h,  the prophetic mission of Muhammad and the destiny of those who refuse to convert to Islam.

This philatelic issue is constituted of five stamps with face values of  0.53€, 0.68€, 0.86€, 0.91€ e 2.00€. The stamp design is by  Hélder Soares from Atelier Design&etc. First day cancellations will be available at Restauradores CTT Shop in Lisbon , CTT Shop Munícipio II in Oporto, CTT Shop Zarco in Funchal, CTT Shop Antero de Quental in Ponta Delgada and  CTT Shop  in Angra do Heroísmo.