Catalog
5000 Reis CCA seal
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Real (decimalized, 1841-1910) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO O THESOUREIRO DA AGENCIA DE BOLAMA PAGARA A VISTA A PORTADOR CINCO MIL REIS EM MOEDA CORRENTE VALOR RECIBIDO LISBOA, I DE MARÇO DE 1909. (Translation: National Bank Overseas the Treasurer of the Agency of Bolama pay to the bearer Five Thousand Reis in currency amount received Lisbon, March 1, 1909.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | PAGAVEL NA AGENCIA DE BOLAMA BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO (Translation: Payable in agency of Bolama National Bank Overseas) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino was a Lisbon-based institution with an unusually broad colonial mandate — it held note-issuing rights across Portugal's overseas territories simultaneously, a commercial privilege that periodically irritated both the Banco de Portugal and the colonial administrations themselves. This particular note was issued for São Tomé e Príncipe, the small equatorial island pair where the BNU maintained a monopoly on paper currency well into the twentieth century.
The "CCA" seal designation distinguishes this from otherwise identical plates used for other territories in the BNU's network — the overprint or applied seal being the primary differentiator between issues rather than any redesign. Bradbury Wilkinson supplied a number of colonial currency printers during this period, and the core plate was almost certainly shared across multiple BNU denominations.