Catalog
8 Tangas with counterfoil
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The left portion forms a detachable counterfoil, while the main note body carries the seal of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Nova Goa, at centre, set within an elaborate guilloche border with embroidered-style decorative framing characteristic of Bradbury Wilkinson engraving. The legend identifies the issuing authority, denomination, and issue date; the full text reads across the note in a formal typeset arrangement. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO NOVA GOA OITO TANGAS MOEDA CORRENTE 1 DE OUTUBRO DE 1917 |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued this note for Portuguese India — a territory with a monetary system stubbornly distinct from metropolitan Portugal, denominated in réis, tangas, and rupia rather than the escudo that would eventually displace them. The tanga was a subdivision of the rupia, and low-denomination notes like this one were issued partly to address chronic small-coin shortages that plagued the colony during the First World War years, when metal was prioritized elsewhere.
The counterfoil attachment is the detail that matters most to collectors. Notes retained in the issuing bank's ledger stub were sometimes separated carelessly; intact examples with the counterfoil still joined are genuinely less common than the face note alone.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed for dozens of colonial issuers during this period, and the BNU relationship ran across multiple series.