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50 Escudos Banco de Moçambique Overprint
| Issuer | Banco de Moçambique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Escudo (1911-1974) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Dark green intaglio on multicolour guilloche underprint. At left centre, the circular seal of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino encloses a vignette of a full-rigged sailing vessel on open water, surrounded by the bank's name and founding date "LISBOA - 1864"; the seal is set against an elaborate radiating guilloche pattern with acanthus scroll ornaments at the corners. To the right, a large denomination numeral "50" is printed in ochre within a scroll cartouche, with "PAGÁVEL EM MOÇAMBIQUE" and "CINQUENTA ESCUDOS" in bold letterpress along the lower margin. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
When Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in June 1975, the new Frelimo government needed circulating currency immediately but lacked the infrastructure — or the time — to commission entirely new notes. The solution was straightforward: existing Banco Nacional Ultramarino notes were overprinted with the new issuing authority's name, converting colonial paper into sovereign tender overnight. This 50 Escudos piece is a direct product of that transitional pragmatism.
Thomas De La Rue handled the overprinting in London, working on stock that had already been printed for the predecessor institution. The print run of over twelve million suggests this denomination saw heavy everyday use during the brief escudo period before the metical replaced it in 1980.