by GASPAR, Jose: Portugal, 1775, Silver, 46 mm
Obv: Equestrian statue of Jose I of Portugal .MAGNANIMO RESTITUTORI. (Great Restorer)    Below:  .MDCCLXXV.
Rev: Standing before a portico, a crowned female urges the personifications of Shipping, Buyers and other Trades to rise up after the destruction caused by the Great Lisbon Earthquake.  POST FATA RESURGENS
Exergue:  OLISIPO

Jose I Manoel Francisco (Joseph Emanuel Braganza) (1714-1777), King of Portugal from 1750-1777, was the son of Joao V, one in a long line of the Braganza dynasty in Portugal. The brilliant statesman Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Mello, Marques de Pombal, was the virtual ruler of the country during his reign.

The reign of José I was characterized by a major earthquake, which struck Lisbon in 1755. The earthquake produced massive damage spawned by tsunamis and fires, leaving Lisbon in ashes and causing the deaths of as many as half of Lisbon’s inhabitants. Although it was not the strongest or most deadly earthquake in human history, its impact, not only on Portugal but on all of Europe, was profound and lasting. Its widespread physical effects aroused a wave of scientific interest and research into earthquakes and may have been the impetus for starting the infant science of seismology. Depictions of the earthquake in art and literature can be found in several European countries, and these were produced and reproduced for centuries following the event, which came to be known as "The Great Lisbon Earthquake." (taken, in part, from University of California, Berkeley)

This medal, struck in 1775, commemorates the restoration of the city following this devastating earthquake.

LINK to 1755 Lisbon Earthquake

LINK to 1755 Lisbon Earthquake (from University of California, Berkeley)