Catalog
5 Avos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Avos (0.05) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red on cream paper, the obverse is dominated at left by a circular vignette of a steam ship at sea, encircled by the inscriptions "BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO" and "COLONIAS COMMERCIO AGRICULTURA", with a denomination cartouche reading "5 AVOS" below. The issuer's name appears in a bold letterpress panel across the upper right, flanked by numeral "5" and "AVOS" at the corners, while the denomination "CINCO AVOS" is set in a framed panel at centre right above the territorial inscription "TIMOR". The date "19 de Julho de 1940" and two signature lines for O Administrador and O Presidente do Conselho Administrativo appear in the lower right, with the printer's imprint "BRADBURY, WILKINSON & CO LD GRAVADORES LONDRES" along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse, printed entirely in red on cream paper, is composed of an elaborate guilloche design centred on a large lobed cartouche bearing the denomination "CINCO AVOS" in bold serif lettering. Two circular guilloche rosettes at left and right each carry the numeral "5" above "AVOS". The issuer's name "BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO" arches across the top within a decorative border, and the territorial name "TIMOR" is set in a framed rectangular panel at the base, flanked by foliate ornaments. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued this Timor 5 Avos as part of a wartime series necessitated by the near-impossibility of supplying the territory with adequate coinage. Japanese occupation of Timor from 1942 onward disrupted normal monetary operations entirely, and notes of this denomination — too small for most transactions in calmer times — became genuinely necessary for day-to-day exchange under occupation conditions.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series in London before the occupation cut off resupply. How many reached circulation before the Japanese arrived, and how many were destroyed or captured, remains difficult to establish with precision.