Catalog
50 Rupias
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, United Kingdom (1856-1990) |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of an allegorical female figure holding a trident at left, with the seal of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino at right. Denomination numeral 50 appears in all four corners, with the bank title and place of issue in letterpress across the upper and lower borders. Date of issue inscribed as '1 de Janeiro de 1906' within the lower legend. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of Athena facing left, flanked by denomination numeral 5 on both sides within ornate guilloche framework. Decorative embroidered-style geometric and foliate border designs surround the central motif. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino was the Portuguese colonial bank of issue, and by 1906 it was printing notes for multiple overseas territories simultaneously — Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, São Tomé, Portuguese India, and Timor among them. The P#18 50 Rupias belongs to the Portuguese India series, denominated in rupias rather than escudos or milreis because the currency in Goa, Damão, and Diu had long been pegged to the Indian monetary system rather than to Lisbon's.
Bradbury Wilkinson handled the security printing out of their New Malden works in Surrey. Their intaglio work for colonial issuers during this period is generally consistent and technically capable, though the Portuguese India notes are among the more obscure of their colonial contracts.