Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Brown intaglio print on multicolour guilloche underprint. Portrait vignette of Francisco de Oliveira Chamiço at left, the Portuguese Coat of Arms at lower centre, and the bank seal at right. Two overprinted red legends reading 'S. TOMÉ e PRÍNCIPE' appear on the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown intaglio print. Central vignette with a female allegorical figure and sailing vessels in the background. A red overprinted legend reading 'S. TOMÉ e PRÍNCIPE' appears on the reverse. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied an unusual position in Portuguese finance — a private institution holding the note-issuing concession for Portugal's overseas territories rather than the metropolitan Banco de Portugal. This 1921 10 Escudos was issued for circulation in Portuguese Guinea, one of several West African territories served by BNU paper during this period, when the escudo had only recently replaced the mil-réis system following the 1911 monetary reform.
Bradbury, Wilkinson produced some of the more technically accomplished colonial currency of the early twentieth century, and their intaglio work for BNU was no exception. The paper itself is known to brown unevenly with age — examine the margins carefully against the central field before grading.