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20 Centavos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette contains the denomination VINTE CENTAVOS in large lettering with a serial number below and the date Lisboa, 1 de Janeiro de 1920 beneath it. Flanking the central panel are two allegorical cherub/angel figures on each side, with a sailing ship vignette at lower left and a crowned Portuguese coat of arms at lower centre. Denomination numerals 20 appear in each upper corner, with the bank title BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO across the top and ANGOLA in a cartouche above the central denomination text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO ANGOLA VINTE CENTAVOS Lisboa, 1 de Janeiro de 1920 O Vice governador / O governador (Translation: National Overseas Bank / Angola / Twenty Centavos / Lisbon, 1 January 1920 / The Vice Governor / The Governor) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued this note for Portuguese Guinea, one of several small-denomination colonial scrip pieces authorized in 1920 to address a chronic shortage of fractional currency in the territory. Coins of small value rarely survived the humidity and logistical difficulties of West African colonial circulation, making low-denomination paper a practical necessity rather than a policy preference.
Pick 52 is among the scarcer BNU Guinea fractionals of the period. Attrition rates on notes this small were brutal — lost, destroyed, or simply worn to illegibility within months of issue.