Catalog
5 Rupias
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupia (1880-1958) |
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| Obverse description | Green on lilac underprint. The central vignette presents an intaglio engraving of the Saptakoteshwar temple of Lord Shiva at Narve-Bicholim, flanked on either side by bilingual text panels carrying the denomination and issuing authority. The date appears at upper left, boxed serial numbers at upper right and lower left, with the signature panel positioned along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO 5 THOMAS DE LA RUE & COY. LTD GRAVADORES, LONDRES (Translation: National Overseas Bank 5 / Thomas De La Rue & Co. Ltd, Engravers, London) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino held the note-issuing monopoly for Portuguese overseas territories, and this 1938 series for Portuguese India was printed by Thomas De La Rue in London — a common arrangement for colonial currencies where metropolitan prestige mattered more than local production capacity. Portuguese India at this point was an enclave economy heavily dependent on trade with British India, which created persistent pressure on the rupias issue: notes frequently crossed the border informally and were not always returned through official channels.
De La Rue's intaglio work on this series is competent but not among their more ambitious colonial commissions of the period.