Catalog
500 Dobras
| Issuer | Banco Nacional de S. Tomé e Príncipe |
|---|---|
| Year | 1977 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 153 × 76 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in violet on multicolour underprint, the reverse centres on a large vignette of a tropical waterfall framed by lush equatorial vegetation, including palm fronds and flowering plants. Denomination numerals appear at upper right and lower left, with a guilloche oval panel at right providing space for the watermark area. The printer's imprint is rendered in small letterpress text along the lower margin. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Portrait watermark of Rei (King) Amador |
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| Comments |
The 500 Dobras was among the first issues of the newly established Banco Nacional de S. Tomé e Príncipe, following independence from Portugal in July 1975. Bradbury Wilkinson — by then a subsidiary of American Bank Note Company — handled much of the anglophone and post-colonial world's currency printing in this period, and Sao Tome's early dobra series was a typical commission from a government building monetary infrastructure almost from scratch.
The dobra itself replaced the escudo at par upon independence. Watermark security was modest for the era, reflecting both budget constraints and the relatively low denomination risk on an island nation with a tiny circulation pool.