Catalog
20 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, United Kingdom (1856-1990) |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio print on paper. Portrait of explorer Bartolomeu Dias at right, with the bank seal at left and the Portuguese Coat of Arms positioned at lower center. Guilloche underprint throughout, with denomination and colony name inscribed within the central panel. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | PAGÁVEL NA COLÓNIA DE CABO VERDE BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO (Translation: Payable in Colony of Cape Verde National Bank Overseas) |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied an unusual position in Portuguese colonial finance — it held note-issuing rights not for Portugal proper but for its overseas territories, and this 1945 issue was specifically for Portuguese Guinea (present-day Guinea-Bissau). Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement was typical for colonial currency printed outside Lisbon; the firm handled an enormous volume of colonial and dominion paper for multiple European powers through the mid-twentieth century.
The 1945 date places this note squarely in the final months of the Second World War, a period when shipping disruptions affected distribution of printed currency to remote territories. Notes for Portuguese Guinea sometimes sat in storage considerably longer than intended before reaching circulation.