Catalog
25 Patacas
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Brown and pink note centred on a guilloche cartouche bearing the bold red overprint 'MACAU' above the denomination legend 'VINTE E CINCO PATACAS EM MOEDA CORRENTE'. The bank seal with a sailing vessel vignette occupies the left, while the Portuguese coat of arms anchors the right, with serial number prefixes flanking the upper centre and a decree number inscribed across the central field. Two manuscript signatures appear at the lower margin beneath the titles 'O GERENTE' and 'O DIRECTOR'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blue and red note built around a central red guilloche cartouche carrying Chinese characters for the denomination, enclosed by intricate lathe-work borders. The Portuguese royal arms vignette in blue occupies the upper portion, flanked by the bank's name and issuing authority rendered in vertical Chinese script columns. Corner medallions with decorative floral motifs frame the composition, with a Chinese inscription running along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino had long relied on European printers for its colonial issues, making this note an anomaly: printed locally in Macau by Litografia Sin Chok & Ca. during the Japanese occupation of surrounding territories. With sea routes to Portugal severed and the colony itself operating under extraordinary pressure as a neutral enclave inside Japanese-controlled southern China, local production was the only viable option.
The wartime circumstances show in the printing quality. Sin Chok was a commercial lithographer, not a security printer, and the notes reflect that — fidelity to the design is inconsistent across the run.