| Descripción del anverso |
Printed in green and black on white paper, the obverse carries the issuer's title 'BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO' in bold letterpress across the upper register, flanked by the arms of Portugal at upper centre and a circular seal inscribed 'Colonias, Commercia, Agriculturas' to the right. A circular vignette at centre-left bears the legend 'LIBRA OURO' within an ornate frame, while the denomination 'UMA LIBRA ESTERLINA OURO' is set in large display type at centre. The place of issue 'LOURENÇO MARQUES', the date 'LISBOA, 1 DE MARÇO DE 1909', and three signature lines for O Governador, O Vice Governador, and O Gerente complete the lower portion. |
| Leyenda del anverso |
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| Descripción del reverso |
Printed in brown on plain paper, the reverse is centred on a large oval guilloche panel bearing the denomination 'UMA LIBRA ESTERLINA OURO' in bold lettering, enclosed within intricate lathe-work and fine engine-turned geometric patterns characteristic of Bradbury Wilkinson intaglio engraving. The inscriptions 'PAGAVEL NA FILIALA EM' and 'LOURENÇO MARQUES' appear in the upper and lower margins respectively, in restrained letterpress against an otherwise unadorned background. |
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| Firma(s) |
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| Tipo de protección |
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| Descripción de la protección |
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Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied a peculiar institutional position — chartered in Lisbon but functioning as the effective central bank across Portuguese overseas territories, issuing currency in denominations calibrated to local commercial practice rather than metropolitan standards. The libra unit here reflects the East African trading environment of Moçambique, where British sterling influence on trade pricing made libra-denominated notes a practical necessity rather than an ideological choice.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced this at their New Malden works, and their intaglio printing for colonial issuers of this period is generally well-executed — the BNU series of 1909 being no exception technically, though the notes saw hard use in port and transit commerce.