Catalog
20 Centavos seal type III
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Value | 20 Centavos (0.20 PTE) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO EM S. TIAGO VINTE CENTAVOS MOEDA CORRENTE LISBOA, 5 de Novembro de 1914. (Translation: National Overseas Bank in S. Tiago Twenty Centavos Legal Tender Lisbon, 5 November 1914.) |
| Reverse description | Purple on multicolour underprint. A seated female allegorical figure occupies the central vignette, with a sailing ship visible in the background to her right, all enclosed within an oval guilloche frame. The denomination in numerals appears in cartouches to the left and right of the central vignette, with the bank name running across the top. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino's 20 Centavos of 1914 belongs to a stop-gap series issued for Portuguese Mozambique during the acute small-change shortage that gripped the colony in the early war years. Metal coinage had largely disappeared from circulation — hoarded or simply absent — and the BNU stepped in with low-denomination fractional notes to fill the gap. Bradbury Wilkinson, already well established as a colonial currency printer by this date, handled production in London.
The "seal type III" designation refers to the overprint or authentication stamp variant used to validate the issue, distinguishing it from earlier seal applications on the same or related printings. Collectors should be aware that seal condition is the primary variable affecting value within this type.