2.5 Rupias

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.