The escudo (Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency which is used in Cape Verde, and which has been used by Portugal, Spain and their colonies.^[1] The original coin was worth 16 silver reais. The Cape Verdean escudo is, and the Portuguese escudo was, subdivided into 100 centavos. Its symbol is the Cifrão, a letter S with two vertical bars superimposed used between the units and the subdivision (for example, 2550).

In Spain and its colonies, the escudo refers to a gold coin worth sixteen reales de plata or forty reales de vellón.