Portugal 2½ Euros, 2008

2½ Euros from Portugal. Issued in 2008. Struck in Silver (.925). Measures 28 mm and weighs 12 g.

Obverse

Portugal's coat of arms and a plucked string instrument.

Reverse

Fado singer, a Portuguese musical genre that emerged around 1820 or 1840. It takes the form of a melancholy song generally accompanied by plucked string instruments. The fado singer or fadist (fadista) generally exploits recurring themes: saudade, unfulfilled love, jealousy, nostalgia for the dead and the past, the difficulty of living, grief, exile... This song was first sung in the slums before reaching the bourgeoisie. Fado was Portugal's national song under the dictator Salazar. The word fado comes from the Latin fatum, meaning "fate".

Edge

Lined irregularly with two vertical lines closely spaced with a larger space before and after.