1000 Reis Overprinted on P#4b

Banco Nacional Ultramarino's practice of overprinting surplus stock from earlier issues was a recurring cost-saving measure across its colonial territories, and this 1922 overprint on P#4b is a direct product of that approach. The base note predates the overprint by several years; the 1000 Reis denomination was stamped onto existing printed stock rather than commissioning a new design from Bradbury Wilkinson, whose original plates remained in use throughout the series.

Reis denominations were already becoming administratively awkward by 1922, with the escudo system having been established for Portugal proper in 1911, though colonial monetary alignment lagged considerably behind the metropole.