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5 Avos Stamp PAGAVEL EM TIMOR over '5 Avos', Macau
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
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| Value | 5 Avos (0.05) |
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| Obverse description | Brown and cream note on the base of a Macau Banco Nacional Ultramarino 5 Avos issue, printed by the Hongkong Printing Press. The obverse carries the Portuguese armillary sphere and coat of arms vignette at upper left, with Chinese characters for the denomination at centre-left and in the lower-right corner cartouche. A red overprint reading PAGAVEL EM TIMOR is applied diagonally across the centre, with the denomination panel CINCO AVOS printed in white on a dark brown ground below it. A manuscript signature of the Gerente appears at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | MACAU BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO MACAU 5 CINCO AVOS 大西洋國海外理銀行 仙伍 澳門 PAGAVEL EM TIMOR |
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| Comments |
When Japanese forces threatened the region in 1940, Timor faced an acute shortage of small-denomination currency. The Banco Nacional Ultramarino's solution was blunt: take unissued Macau notes, apply a handstamp reading "PAGAVEL EM TIMOR" — payable in Timor — and release them into circulation as a stopgap. The overlay also converts the face value, placing 5 Avos over whatever the underlying Macau denomination read.
The Hongkong Printing Press connection is worth noting: BNU relied heavily on Hong Kong-based commercial printers for its colonial issues during this period, a supply chain that would become untenable within two years of this note's issue.