500 Escudos 4th. print

Bradbury Wilkinson produced this 500 Escudos series during a politically turbulent stretch in Portuguese history — the late 1920s saw the consolidation of power under the military regime that had toppled the First Republic in 1926, with Salazar still ascending within the finance ministry. The Banco de Portugal's continued reliance on a London engraver-printer through this period reflects both the quality gap between Portuguese domestic printing capacity and what Bradbury Wilkinson could deliver, and the degree to which prestige-denomination notes demanded intaglio work that few continental houses could match.

The fourth print designation distinguishes this from earlier impression runs of the same basic design — subtle differences in ink density and plate wear can help separate printings, though cataloguers still debate the boundary dates between the third and fourth strikes.