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10 000 Reis

Issuer Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Year 1909
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Value 10 000 Reis (10 000)
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Reverse description Printed in brown on a multicolour guilloche underprint with green and yellow tones. A large central medallion bears the circular legend "BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO" and encloses an allegorical female figure seated beside a model sailing ship, with a tall-masted vessel visible in the background. Denomination numerals "10" appear in ornate cartouches at left and right, and the printer's imprint is present at the bottom centre.
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Variants P#10as - seal with text "Filial em S. Thomé" Specimen
P#10b - seal with text "Colonias, Commercio, Agricultura"
Comments

Bradbury Wilkinson printed this note for the Banco Nacional Ultramarino at a moment when the Portuguese colonial banking system was under serious institutional strain — the Republic was less than a year away, and the BNU's concession rights across multiple territories were already being contested in Lisbon. The 10,000 Réis denomination placed this firmly in the high-value tier for colonial circulation, where forgery risk and hoarding pressures were both acute.

BNU's Pick 10 series for this period is notoriously scarce in any condition, likely the result of low initial print runs combined with aggressive withdrawal after the 1910 political transition reshuffled colonial monetary arrangements.