According to the Bank of Portugal (BdP): “In the set of
escudo banknotes whose statute of limitations occurred after the escudo was
withdrawn from circulation, €159.3 million (46%) reached the Bank by the end of
the term, and €186.8 million (54%) remained in circulation in the public's
possession”.
According to the central bank, “the value of non-returned
banknotes constituted, over time, an extraordinary benefit for Banco de
Portugal, given that the responsibility for paying the banknotes issued could
not be fulfilled”.
From 28 February of this year, 20 years have passed since
the withdrawal of the last series of escudo banknotes (Discoveries series) from
circulation, and during this period it was possible to exchange 10,000 escudo
banknotes, 5,000 notes, 2,000 notes, 1,000 notes and 500 notes.
At the end of this exchange period, these banknotes have
expired, that is, they have lost their value, so they can no longer be accepted
by Banco de Portugal.
The bank explains that “this situation may be due to several
factors: the amount to be received does not compensate for the effort to carry
out the exchange; people keeping it as a memory; oblivion of its existence;
[or] destruction by human action or other agents (fire, chemicals, animals,
among others)”.
In this last series, the BdP says that it was “evident that
the lower the face value, the lower the proportion of banknotes delivered for
exchange”.