(sold for $11.0)

1893, Kingdom of Portugal, Carlos I. Nice Silver 100 Reis Coin. aXF!

Mint Year: 1893 Mint Place: Lisbon References: KM-531. Condition: About XF! Denomination: 100 Reis Material: Silver (.917) Diameter: 20mm Weight: 2.53gm

Obverse: Bust of Carlos I to right. Legend: CARLOS I REI DE PORTUGAL . 1893 .   Reverse: Value (100) above denomination (REIS) within wreath.

Carlos I (Eng. Charles), the Diplomat (also known as the Martyr) (Port.o Diplomata and o Martirizado) - (Lisbon, September 28, 1863 - Lisbon, February 1, 1908) named Carlos  Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier  Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança Sabóia Bourbon e  Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha was the 33rd (or 34th or 35th according to some historians) and penultimate King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the first Portuguese king to die a violent death since Sebastian of Portugal (1578). This occurred in 1908, when Carlos was murdered in Lisbon as he travelled in an open carriage with the royal family.

Carlos became King on October 19, 1889. Colonial treaties with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (one signed in August 1890 that defined their African borders along the Zambezi and Congo rivers and another signed on October 14, 1899,  that confirmed colonial treaties of the 17th century) stabilised the  situation in Africa. These agreements were however unpopular in  Portugal where they were seen as being to the disadvantage of the  country.

Domestically, Portugal was twice declared bankrupt - on June 14, 1892, and again on May 10, 1902 - causing industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism  and press criticism of the monarchy. Carlos responded by appointing João Franco as prime minister and subsequently accepting parliament's dissolution.

As a patron of science and the arts, King Carlos took an active part  in the celebration of the 500th anniversary (in 1894) of the birth of Prince Henry the Navigator. The following year he decorated the famous Portuguese poet João de Deus in a ceremony in Lisbon. Carlos took a personal interest in deep-sea  and maritime exploration, publishing an account of his own studies in  this area.

On February 1, 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Almada and, from there, took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked in Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open carriage with Carlos I and his family passed through the Terreiro do Paço fronting on the river. While crossing the square, shots were fired from  the crowd by two republican activists: Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buiça.  Buica, who was a former army sergeant and sharpshooter, fired five  shots from a rifle hidden under his long overcoat. The king died  immediately, his heir Luís Filipe was mortally wounded, and Prince  Manuel was hit in the arm. The Queen alone escaped death or injury. The  two assassins were shot dead on the spot by police and bodyguards, as  was a bystander in the confusion. The royal carriage turned into the  nearby Navy Arsenal where, about twenty minutes later, the Prince Royal  Luis Filipe died. Several days later the younger son Prince Manuel was  acclaimed King of Portugal; the last of the Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty.