East Timor is a country in South East Asia east of Java and west of New Guinea. It has a population of 1.2 million.
Settled by Tetum and Kemak peoples, East Timor was first visited by Portuguese in 1515. The official establishment of Portuguese Timor was in 1702. The west part of Timor was part of the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia.
Following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 in Portugal, East Timor declared independence in November 1975. Only nine days later Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor in a brutal military intervention. Indonesia's occupation was marked by violence. The first few years almost a thitd of the East Timorese population died as a result of violence, disease or famine. The Dili Massacre of 1991 caused international outrage. In 1999 the UN took over administration of East Timor following a deal with the new democratic regime in Indonesia, but this unleashed new massacres by Indonesian army sponsored militias. The UN were able to restore order and in 2002 East Timor became an independent country. It is still one of the poorest countries in the region.
Currency
Portuguese Timor used Spanish Dollars which were widely used in East Asia. In 1894, the Pataca, Portuguese for Peso or Dollar, was introduced for Macao and Timor. It was pegged to the Straits Dollar making it worth 2s4d when the first Pataca banknotes were printed in 1906. In 1935 it was pegged to 5.5 Escudos, making it worth 1 British Shilling or $0.24. In 1942 the Japanese replaced the Pataca with the East Indies Gulden at par.
After WW2 the Pataca was restored at a value of 5.5 Portuguese Escudos. In 1958 these were replaced by the Portuguese Timorese Escudo at a rate of 5.6 to 1. The Escudo was ised until the Indonesian invasion in 1975, after which the Rupiah was introduced.
In 1999 the US Dollar started replacing the Rupiah, and following independence in 2002 the Dollar was made the official currency of East Timor. Timorese Centavo coins form the only national money used by East Timor.
Coins
The Pataca only existed on paper until 10, 20 and 50 Avos coins were introduced in 1945. The coins had the same specs as the Portuguese 50 Centavos, 1 and 2.5 Escudos of those days. In 1958 these were replaced by the unusual denominations of 10, 30, 60 Centavos and 1, 3 and 6 Escudos. This was done to ease the transition from the Pataca which was worth 5.6 Escudos. In 1970 a regular series was introduced with denominations from 20 Centavos to 10 Escudos.
After independence Timorese Centavo coins were introduced in 2004. These coins are at par with US money but only legal tender in East Timor.
Portuguese Timor:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/portuguese-timor-1.html
East Timor:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/timor_oriental-1.html
World coins chat: East Timor & Portuguese Timor
9 posts
Amraan Amjad
Catalogue referee
Joined: 21 Tem 2021
Posts: 598
Posts: 598
Posted: 26 Şub 2024, 13:34
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Edited: 26 Şub 2024, 13:35
Edited: 26 Şub 2024, 13:35
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