The escudo (Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency historically used in Portugal and its colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. It was originally worth 16 silver reais. The Cape Verdean escudo and the former Portuguese escudo (PTE), each subdivided into 100 centavos, are named after the historical currency. Its symbol is the Cifrão, a letter S with two vertical bars superimposed used between the units and the subdivision (for example, 2550).