Portugal · 150 years of Policia de Segurança Pública (PSP)

Issue date13 Jul 2017

Total mintage509,644

EU maximum520,000

Editions3

Edge lettering5 Wappenschilde + 7 castles, evenly distributed

Inscription1867 / 2017 / PORTUGAL / SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA / DIREITOS / LIBERDADES / GARANTIAS / JOSÉ DE GUIMARÃES

DesignerJosé de Guimarães

mintImprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda S.A., Lisboa

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Portuguese police, the Polícia de Segurança Pública. The design features human figures and buildings as symbols of the citizens and cities in which public security is ensured, as well as the stylized police symbol. It is complemented by the years “1867” and “2017”, the inscriptions “SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA”, “DIREITOS”, “LIBERDADES” and “GARANTIAS”, and the name of the artist JOSÉ DE GUIMARÃES.

The design

The coin’s inner section depicts human figures and buildings symbolizing the citizens and the cities in which public safety is primarily ensured, as well as the stylized symbol of the police. The following is shown as the inscription: the year “1867” and the year of issue “2017”, the issuing country “PORTUGAL”, the subject (“SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA” — public safety), the three key terms associated with citizenship (“DIREITOS”, “LIBERDADES” and “GARANTIAS” — rights, freedoms and guarantees), and the name of the artist JOSÉ DE GUIMARÃES.
The coin’s outer ring depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

The historical roots of the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) date back to the Portuguese constitutional monarchy. In 1867, civilian police forces were established in Lisbon and Porto. Their purpose was to ensure public order in the rapidly growing urban centres through a permanently organised police administration. The present-day PSP emerged from several subsequent renamings and reorganisations of these institutions.

Today, the PSP is a uniformed civilian security force within the portfolio of the Portuguese Ministry of the Interior. Its jurisdiction lies primarily in larger cities and densely populated areas. Its tasks include patrol duties, crime prevention, traffic monitoring, securing public events, and protecting persons and facilities. Portugal also has the Guarda Nacional Republicana, a militarily organised security force traditionally deployed particularly outside the major urban areas.

The formula “Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees” used on the coin has a special constitutional background. In the Portuguese Constitution, it designates a central group of fundamental rights. Following the end of the dictatorship through the Carnation Revolution (Nelkenrevolution) of 1974 and with the democratic Constitution of 1976, the police were expressly integrated into a constitutional state governed by the rule of law. Police actions thereafter serve not only to maintain security, but must also respect and protect citizens’ rights. The connection between the security mandate and fundamental rights explains the political statement of the coin’s design.

José de Guimarães is a Portuguese visual artist who works primarily as a painter and sculptor. His often highly simplified, sign-like visual language explains the abstract design of the motif; it does not depict specific historical persons or particular buildings.

The institutional anniversary provided the occasion for the issue, commemorating both the emergence of a modern urban police force and its present-day role within the democratic constitutional state.