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5 Avos Banco Nacional Ultramarino
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 84 × 46 mm |
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| Obverse description | Brown ink on a light-green guilloche underprint, with the Portuguese coat of arms set within a laurel wreath vignette at upper left, flanked by numeral 5 medallions in each lower corner accompanied by the Chinese characters 伍仙. The bank title appears on a central ribbon banner above the denomination cartouche, with a manuscript manager's signature and serial number placed in the lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | MACAU BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO 5 CINCO AVOS 大西洋國海外處通理銀行 門澳 伍仙 (Translation: Macau Overseas National Bank Five Avos Atlantic Overseas Bank Macau Five Cents) |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino's tiny 1920 fractional notes for Macau were a direct response to acute small-change shortages that plagued Portuguese colonial territories in the aftermath of the First World War. Metal was scarce, subsidiary coinage had effectively dried up, and emergency paper in very low denominations was the practical stopgap. The Hongkong Printing Press — a commercial operation serving the colony's routine printing needs — was the pragmatic local choice rather than any prestige European security printer.
At 84 × 46 mm, this is among the smallest-format notes the BNU produced for any territory. Survival rates are poor; notes this small and low-denomination were used hard, pocketed loose, and rarely preserved.