If it still had the escudo, Portugal may have had better options to deal with its debt problems.

FORBES: The Tragedy Of Portugal

The Irish punt, the Portuguese escudo and the Spanish peseta were all devalued.

ECONOMIST: EURO BRIEF: Eleven into one may go | The

D-mark against the lira, the peseta, the Portuguese escudo and the Swedish krona.

ECONOMIST: Can EMU be left to stew?

Yes, bringing in the New Escudo would be problematic, very painful.

FORBES: Will the Euro Fail in 2012?

Susan Adams likewise came up with two new names to know next year, Crisis Mapping, an increasingly potent humanitarian tool, and Escudo, the once and future currency of Portugal.

FORBES: Leadership Highlights of the Week

In 1910 Portugal overthrew its 700-year-old monarchy and proclaimed itself a republic, in the process doing away with the old royal currency, the rei - 'king' - and introducing the escudo as its successor.

BBC: Coining a new Europe