1.000 Escudos

Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied an unusual position in Portuguese colonial finance — it held the note-issuing monopoly not for metropolitan Portugal but for the overseas territories, functioning simultaneously as a commercial and colonial bank. By 1924, that arrangement was under increasing political strain following the instability of the First Portuguese Republic, which had been lurching through governments since 1910.

Waterlow & Sons printed extensively for colonial issuers across this period, and the dry stamp security feature here reflects the relatively modest anti-counterfeiting infrastructure available for high-denomination colonial notes at the time — a mechanical embossing rather than a watermark or intaglio serial. The 1.000 Escudos figure is a substantial face value for the series, and Pick #38C denotes a signature variety within what was a small-circulation issue.