It can be plausibly argued that much of the economic backwardness in the world can be explained by the lack of mutual confidence”.17  Walking around the museum I also saw the only known specimen of a silver leais struck in the Oporto mint and introduced during the reign of King Afonso V (r. 1438-1481).
This coin was introduced during a period of relative monetary stability in Portugal from the 1420s on “following decades of wars against Castile, successive currency debasements and inflation.”18 The silver leais as suggested by its name means ‘loyal’ or ‘honest’. Trust is as critical today for central banks, as it was for King Afonso V. Trust is essential for the transmission of monetary policy.