500 Escudos

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino was Mozambique's note-issuing authority throughout the colonial period, and by 1963 it was printing high-denomination notes against a backdrop of mounting armed resistance — FRELIMO launched its insurgency the following year. Six different signature combinations are recorded for this Pick 29 series, an unusually high number that reflects the administrative turbulence of the late colonial administration rather than any deliberate policy of frequent rotation.

Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility was the go-to printer for colonial currency throughout the British and Portuguese empires alike — a useful irony given the political tensions of the period.