Catalog
20 Rupias
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupia (1880-1958) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO INDIA PORTUGUESA DECRETO Nº 17.154 VINTE RUPIAS LISBOA, 29 de NOVEMBRO de 1945. (Translation: National Bank Overseas Portuguese India Decree no. 17,154 Twenty Rupees Lisbon, November 29, 1945.) |
| Reverse description | Executed in blue and purple, the reverse presents a central vignette of a seated female allegorical figure at left with sailing ships at centre and the Portuguese coat of arms at upper right. Ornate guilloche border work frames the composition, with the payability legend running along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino held the note-issuing monopoly across Portugal's overseas territories, and this 1945 Rupia issue for Portuguese India sits within a series that outlasted British India's own currency reforms by years — a deliberate act of administrative separation. Goa, Daman, and Diu remained under Lisbon's control until 1961, meaning these notes circulated alongside Indian rupees in a border economy rife with arbitrage.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series from their New Malden works. The choice of a British security printer for a Portuguese colonial issue was entirely routine — BW held contracts with dozens of colonial issuers regardless of metropolitan affiliation.