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2500 Réis
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2500 Réis |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 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 |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette of Vasco da Gama (c. 1460–1524), the Portuguese explorer celebrated as the first European to reach India by sea, occupies the central field, with sailing ships rendered in fine intaglio engraving in the background. Elaborate guilloche underprint frames the composition, with the issuing bank's title and payment obligations inscribed in letterpress across the note. The overall design reflects the classical late-Victorian engraving style characteristic of Bradbury Wilkinson productions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A central oval vignette engraved in intaglio presents a standing female allegorical figure in classical drapery, with tall-masted sailing ships visible in the background, the whole encircled by the bank's title lettering. Denomination numerals "2500" appear in bold guilloche panels to the left and right, flanked by intricate lathe-work ornamental borders. At the top, a rectangular cartouche in red letterpress indicates the branch of payment, with the printer's imprint at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
Banco Nacional Ultramarino, chartered in Lisbon in 1864, held the note-issuing monopoly for Portugal's overseas territories — this piece would have circulated in one of those colonial jurisdictions rather than metropolitan Portugal itself. The 2500 Réis denomination is an unusual one by European standards, reflecting the older mil-réis accounting system still in use across Portuguese possessions at the time.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement was commonplace for colonial currency of this period; the London firm handled security printing for dozens of colonial authorities simultaneously. What matters here is that 1909 sits just two years before the Portuguese monarchy collapsed — notes of this vintage carry the royal authorization apparatus of a regime with roughly twenty-four months left.