With the aforesaid coins circulating in the way that you have heard and with the king now at peace as we have described, his people became irritated with him, saying that, owing to the many coins of a differing standard and varying value that he had issued throughout the kingdom as he saw fit, goods were being charged for at huge and unreasonable prices and for much more than in common sense they were worth. Furthermore, simple folk were easily led astray by these coins, confusing some coins with others, and many people were daring to forge them outside the country and were then bringing them into Portugal, where all these coins were mixed in together with the others.

The king declared that, because of the great and increasing necessities and charges which had befallen him as a result of the war which he had waged with King Enrique, it had behoved him to mint coins of a differing standard and value, in order to enable him, in the best way possible, to pay the contias, wages and other expenses which were applicable in such a war. However, as he recognized in these matters the need to serve God, as well as to unburden his conscience and to bring benefit to his people, since it had pleased God to bring about peaceful relations with his adversaries, he would now seek a means by which the value of the currency would be rectified and by which goods would return to sensible price levels.

The king then gave orders that the coins which had been minted in Lisbon, Valença do Minho and Oporto should have the following values: the coins known as graves, which were worth 15 soldos in the coinage of King Afonso, should not be worth more than seven; the barbudas, which were worth 20 soldos, should go back to being valued at 14; the pilartes, which were worth 5 soldos, should be valued at 3 ½; and silver reais should be worth 8 soldos.

Notwithstanding such a change in value as this, in view of the great losses which the people continued to undergo, the king then ordered a further major devaluation, namely that the barbuda, which from 20 soldos had gone back to fourteen, should not be worth more than 2 soldos and 4 dinheiros; the grave 14 dinheiros; the pilarte 7 dinheiros; and the forte 10 soldos.