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50 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A central oval vignette encloses a seated allegorical female figure, rendered in intaglio, surrounded by an elaborate guilloche border with the bank name in a circular legend. The numeral 50 appears in large figures within symmetrical decorative cartouches at left and right, while a fine lathe-work underprint in green and red fills the entire field. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied an unusual position in Portuguese colonial finance — it was a private institution granted the right of note issue across multiple overseas territories, not a central bank in any conventional sense. This 50 Escudos note predates the formal reorganization of BNU's issuing privileges that came with later colonial banking legislation, and would have circulated across Portuguese Africa and Asia under that same mandate.
Bradbury Wilkinson had a long relationship with BNU's colonial series. The watermark security on this issue is relatively modest by the firm's own standards — the company was capable of considerably more sophisticated intaglio work, suggesting cost constraints on the colonial run.