200 Рейс    (продана за $7.0)

1893, Kingdom of Portugal, Carlos I. Nice Silver 200 Reis Coin. XF!

Mint year: 1893
Mint Place: Lisbon
References: KM-534.
Condition: Scratches in obverse, otherwise XF!
Denomination: 200 Reis
Material: Silver (.917)
Diameter: 24mm
Weight: 5.07gm

Obverse: Bust of Carlos I to right.
Legend: CARLOS I REI DE PORTUGAL . 1893 .

Reverse: Value (200) 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.