2500 Réis 1st. print

Portugal's financial system was under acute stress in 1891 — the country had effectively defaulted on its external debt in May of that year, triggering a banking crisis that forced Banco de Portugal into emergency note issuance well beyond its previous circulation norms. This 2500 Réis belongs to that pressured expansion, a denomination that existed partly to bridge the gap left by the near-disappearance of silver coinage from everyday transactions.

The "1st print" designation matters here: subsequent print runs on this Pick type show measurable differences in ink saturation and paper stock, making the first printing the more precisely documented of the variants despite — or perhaps because of — its relative scarcity.