100 Escudos Banco de Moçambique overprint

When Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal in June 1975, the transitional Banco de Moçambique had no time to commission entirely new currency. The solution was direct: existing Banco Nacional Ultramarino notes — the colonial currency — were overprinted with the new bank's name and put straight back into circulation. This note is the result of that expedient. Bradbury Wilkinson had already produced the underlying BNU stock, so the overprint work required no change of printer.

The BNU series had been designed for a Portuguese overseas territory that no longer existed. Overprinting was a stopgap while FRELIMO consolidated the new state's institutions — proper Banco de Moçambique issues followed within a few years.