Description: This striking commemorative issue represents the 3$50 (three escudos and fifty centavos) denomination from a series released by Portugal to honor the quincentenary of explorer Vasco da Gama's birth. Designed by artist Jaime Martins Barata, the visual field displays a beautifully rendered antique portolan chart depicting the African continent flanked by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Thick navigational rhumb lines intersect across a prominent, central 32-point compass rose, tracking the landmark path carved from Lisbon down around the Cape of Good Hope to Malindi and onward to Asia. Bold typography banners flank the top and bottom margins, framed in muted shades of green, gold, ochre, and dark charcoal grey.
Circa: 1969
Condition: Used
Notes:
This historic issue holds an esteemed position within thematic collections focused on maps, cartography, navigation, and the Age of Discovery.