Portugal has stopped producing 2-cent coins since 2018 and 1-cent coins have only been minted in four of the last seven years, which raises the question about the continuity of these denominations in the economy. The cost of manufacturing and placing on the market exceeds its own face value and, given this, the country opted for a cheaper alternative to maintain supply.
According to Jornal de Notícias, millions of 1 and 2 cent coins were imported to meet domestic needs, avoiding circulation disruptions.
Portugal received coins from Belgium and Slovakia
National production was reduced due to the associated costs, and the solution found was to exchange currency with other European Union countries. According to the same source, these exchanges took place over the last seven years, involving Member States that already apply rounding and no longer use coins with a low face value.
The newspaper writes that, in 2024, Portugal received 26 million 1-cent coins and 34 million 2-cent coins in exchange for 1.1 million 50-cent coins and 195,000 2-euro coins, in a process carried out with Belgium and Slovakia. The publication adds that this operation follows recommendations sent annually by the Bank of Portugal to the Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, which assesses the quantities required for circulation.
The same source states that the Ministry of Finance confirmed that these imports guaranteed supply between 2018 and 2024, ruling out the possibility of a shortage of this type of currency. Even so, the issue reached Parliament through a question from the Socialist Party, which received reports from traders and citizens about difficulties in obtaining change, especially in local markets, small establishments, toll booths, automatic machines and public transport.
The website explains that the PS questioned the Government about the possible application of measures that would facilitate the circulation of cash or awareness campaigns to encourage the use of these currencies. The Executive rejected the hypothesis of implementing price rounding, maintaining the current regime for now.
Rounding: common practice in Europe
This indicates that several Eurozone countries have adopted automatic rounding of the final amount paid by the consumer, as is the case in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania. In these markets, prices necessarily end in zero or five cents, which reduces the circulation of 1 and 2 cent coins and simplifies change.
In Portugal, the issuance of currency continues to depend on the Ministry of Finance through the General Directorate of Treasury and Finance, being produced by Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda and put into circulation by the Bank of Portugal. For now, no changes to the regime are planned, despite the reduction in national production and exchanges with European partners who have already abandoned the use of these values.
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