10 Avos Banco Nacional Ultramarino

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino served as the note-issuing authority for Portuguese Macau throughout the colonial period, and this wartime 10 Avos is one of the more historically compressed pieces in the series. Macau occupied a peculiar position during the Pacific War — nominally neutral under Portuguese administration while surrounded by Japanese-occupied territory — and local printing became a practical necessity when normal supply channels collapsed.

That the Hongkong Printing Press handled production is itself notable: Hong Kong had fallen to Japan in December 1941, yet commercial printing operations continued under occupation. This note dates from deep within that period.