Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Réis 1st. print
| Issuer | Banco de Portugal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1891 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Lilac intaglio print on a tan guilloche underprint, with an ornate geometric border framing the entire face. The Portuguese crowned coat of arms appears as a central vignette flanked by the denomination numeral '500' in large figures to the left and right, with the legend 'QUINHENTOS RÉIS' in bold letterpress across the center. The date 'Lisboa 1 de Julho de 1891', series designation, and two manuscript signatures of bank officials appear in the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO DE PORTUGAL 500 QUINHENTOS RÉIS (Translation: Bank of Portugal 500 Five Hundred Reis) |
| 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 |
The 500 Réis of 1891 arrived during one of Portugal's most acute financial crises — the country had effectively defaulted on its foreign debt that same year, a collapse triggered by overleveraged railway speculation and a catastrophic drop in Brazilian remittances. Banco de Portugal was under severe pressure to expand note circulation precisely when public confidence in paper was at its lowest.
The "1st. print" designation matters here because subsequent printings show measurable differences in ink density and plate wear. First-print examples are the reference point for authentication against later states.