5 Rupias

Banco Nacional Ultramarino was the privileged bank of issue for Portuguese overseas territories, and this 1906 5 Rupias note was issued for Portuguese India — Goa, Daman, and Diu — where the rupia, not the escudo or real, was the unit of account, tied to the subcontinent's monetary conventions rather than Lisbon's. The denomination persisted in Portuguese India well into the twentieth century precisely because cross-border trade with British India made rupee-denominated currency a practical necessity.

Bradbury Wilkinson produced a considerable volume of colonial currency during this period, and their work for BNU on the Indian territories series is generally well-executed intaglio. Pick 15 is scarce in any grade — the 1906 issues had limited print runs and Portuguese India's small European population meant lower demand than comparable colonial issues elsewhere.