Catalog
10 000 Reis
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, United Kingdom (1856-1990) |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO O THESOUREIRO DA FILIAL EM S. THIAGO PAGARÁ Á VISTA AO PORTADOR DEZ MIL RÉIS EM MOEDA CORRENTE VALOR RECEBIDO LISBOA. 1 de MARÇO de 1909. (Translation: National Bank Overseas The Treasurer of the Agency of St. Thiago Pay in cash by carrier Ten Thousand Reis in currency Amount received Lisbon, March 1st, 1909.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | PAGAVEL NA FILIAL EM S. THIAGO BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO (Translation: Payable in agency of St. Thiago National Bank Overseas) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino was established in 1864 specifically to serve Portugal's overseas territories, and by 1909 it held note-issuing authority across a sprawling network of colonies from Mozambique to Timor. This particular note's issuing context matters: BNU operated not as a metropolitan central bank but as a colonial concessionary institution, meaning its notes circulated under terms set by government charter rather than standard banking law — a distinction that occasionally created legal ambiguities when notes crossed between territories.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement places this squarely in the premium end of colonial currency production for the period. Their intaglio work for BNU in this era was technically accomplished, and the firm handled similar commissions for British, Portuguese, and Latin American clients simultaneously.
P#7 is among the scarcer early BNU issues for this denomination, with surviving examples relatively few given the note's age and the tropical climates in which most circulated.