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20 Avos Banco Nacional Ultramarino
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO VINTE AVOS 弍 毫 LITHO BY THE HONGKONG PRINTING PRESS |
| Reverse description | The reverse, printed in pale red, centres on a large circular guilloche rosette bearing the denomination 20 / VINTE AVOS, flanked symmetrically by two classical column vignettes and further guilloche ornaments. Corner cartouches carry the value 20 AVOS with Chinese characters 弍毫 at each side. The full Chinese bank title runs across the top, with BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO below it, and MACAU together with the Chinese place name 門澳 appears at the foot. |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino served as the note-issuing authority for Portuguese Macau from 1902 onward, operating under a concession from Lisbon rather than as a straightforward colonial treasury. This small-denomination avo note was printed locally in Hong Kong — an arrangement that reflects the tight geographic logic of mid-century Portuguese Asia, where Macau's financial infrastructure depended heavily on its larger neighbor for practical services.
1944 puts this note squarely in the Japanese occupation period for Hong Kong, which fell in December 1941. The Hongkong Printing Press operated under Japanese administration at the time this note was produced — a detail that sits awkwardly against the Portuguese issuer's neutrality during the Second World War.