20 Réis – São Tomé and Príncipe

In 1819, São Tomé and Príncipe remained under Portuguese colonial administration, and its currency situation was entirely dictated by the economic needs and policies of the metropole. The islands' economy was dominated by a resurgent sugar industry and the beginnings of what would become a dominant coffee sector, both reliant on enslaved African labor. There was no local mint, and the primary medium of exchange was a mix of Portuguese colonial coinage and, more commonly, low-denomination copper and silver coins from Portugal and Brazil that circulated through trade and salary payments to soldiers and officials.

The monetary circulation was chronically insufficient and problematic. The small quantity of official coinage was often supplemented by makeshift solutions, including the continued use of older, worn Spanish American silver coins (like pesos and reales) that were familiar in Atlantic trade. Furthermore, the severe lack of small change for everyday transactions led to the practice of physically cutting these silver coins into fractional pieces, a testament to the scarcity and informality of the currency system. This environment also saw the use of commodity money, such as rolls of tobacco (rolos), which were officially recognized for settling minor debts and taxes, highlighting the dual and inadequate nature of the monetary supply.

This fragmented system reflected the islands' peripheral status within the Portuguese empire. Lisbon's monetary policy focused on its core territories, leaving distant colonies like São Tomé to manage with whatever specie arrived via trade vessels or administrative channels. The currency situation in 1819 was therefore one of dependency, inconsistency, and adaptation, mirroring a plantation society struggling with isolation and an underdeveloped commercial infrastructure, all while being integrated into the broader exploitative circuits of the Atlantic slave economy.