Topic: Fernão Mendes PintoDate: September 8th, 2011
Country: Portugal
Mintage: 520.000
Description: 500th anniversary of birth of Fernao Mendes Pinto.
Official Journal
Fernão Mendes Pinto (Montemor-o-Velho, c. 1509 — Almada, Pragal, 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese explorer and writer. His exploits are known through the posthumous publication of his memoir Pilgrimage in 1614, an autobiographical work whose validity is nearly impossible to assess. In the course of his travels in the Middle and Far East, Pinto visited Ethiopia, the Arabian Sea, China (where he claimed to have been a forced laborer on the Great Wall), India and Japan. He claimed to have been among the first group of Europeans to visit Japan and initiate the Nanban trade period. He also claimed to have introduced the gun there in 1543.
2€ coincard proof
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