Catalog
2.5 Rupias
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2.5 Rupias |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette shows the circular seal of Banco Nacional Ultramarino with a sailing vessel, surrounded by elaborate guilloche borders and ornamental scroll-work. The denomination '2½' appears in each corner within decorative cartouches, with the value also rendered in multiple scripts — Latin, Devanagari, Kannada, and Konkani — across the central panel. Dated 1 de Outubro de 1917, Lisboa, with signature lines for O Vice-Governador and O Governador below the central seal. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central allegorical vignette shows a seated female figure surrounded by agricultural produce and harvest goods, rendered in fine intaglio engraving within an elaborate oval guilloche frame. The denomination '2½' appears in circular cartouches to the left and right of the central vignette. The bank name and denomination inscription are set in ornamental banners above and below the central design. |
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| Comments |
Bradbury Wilkinson produced this note for the Banco Nacional Ultramarino at a moment when Portuguese colonial finances in Goa were under acute pressure — wartime disruption to shipping and trade had created genuine fractional currency shortages, and the 2½ rupias denomination was a practical response to the gap left by scarce coin. The denomination itself is a colonial hybrid, pegged to the rupia rather than the metropolitan escudo, reflecting Goa's distinct monetary tradition rooted in Indo-Portuguese commerce.
Pick 22 is notably scarce. Low original print runs and poor survival rates in the humid coastal climate of Goa account for that.