Obverse. Photo © INCM
  • 2,5 Euro 2018, KM# 888b, Portugal, 2018 Football (Soccer) World Cup in Russia
  • 2,5 Euro 2018, KM# 888b, Portugal, 2018 Football (Soccer) World Cup in Russia
  • 2,5 Euro 2018, KM# 888b, Portugal, 2018 Football (Soccer) World Cup in Russia, Cork case with certificate of guarantee
Description

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. This will be the first World Cup ever held in Eastern Europe, and the first held in Europe since 2006.

The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina and inaugural winner Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France and Spain, with one title each. The current champion is Germany, which won its fourth title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games; the cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet.

Engraver: João Duarte

Obverse

Depicts a football player surrounded by the flying balls and inscription "FIFA World Cup", country name and year. Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office abbreviation (INCM) and engraver's name below.

CAMPEONATO DO MUNDO DA FIFA TM
PORTUGAL
2018
INCM J. DUARTE

Reverse

Depicts coat of arms of Portugal between some balls (left) and value (right). surrounded by the country name and date below.

The coat of arms of Portugal is popularly referred as the Cinco Quinas (Five Quinas) or simply the Quinas (a quina being each of the five escutcheons in form of a cross with five bezants of the Portuguese shield). In the late 14th century, the number of bezants was fixed in five. Late explanations interpret them as the five wounds of Jesus Christ. The shield resting in front is composed of seven golden castles, which represent the Moorish castles conquered during the Reconquista. Behind the shield is an armillary sphere, which was a navigational instrument, and symbolizes Portugal's importance during the Age of Discovery.

2,50
EURO
2018
FIFA WORLD CUP
RUSSIA TM

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Gold
Fineness 0.916
Weight 8.48 g
Diameter 22 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office (INCM)

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