20 000 Réis

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino, established in Lisbon in 1864 with a mandate to serve Portugal's overseas territories, issued this note for Angola — one of several colonial dependencies where BNU held the exclusive right of issue. By 1909, the 20,000 Réis was a substantial denomination, worth roughly a full month's wages for a colonial administrator of modest rank.

Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement is significant. The firm had by this period established itself as a preferred printer for colonial currency work across multiple empires, and their intaglio engraving quality was consistently superior to what Lisbon-based printing could achieve at the time. The Angola BNU series of this era is notable for relatively low print runs, and attrition in tropical circulation conditions was severe — humidity, insects, and informal storage destroyed enormous quantities.