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5 Centavos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 98 × 65 mm |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark olive-green on a pale yellow ground and dominated by a large central circular vignette containing a steam-assisted sailing ship at sea with smoke billowing from its funnel, rendered in fine intaglio line work. A decorative ribbon banner curves across the vignette, inscribed with the bank's motto, flanked on either side by circular denomination medallions reading '5 CENTAVOS'. A large anchor motif anchors the composition at the lower centre, and scrolling acanthus ornaments fill the corners. The full bank name is distributed across a flowing ribbon at the foot of the design. |
| Reverse lettering | COLONIAS, COMMERCIO, AGRICULTURA 5 CENTAVOS BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO (Translation: Colonies, Commerce, Agriculture, National Overseas Bank) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino issued this small-denomination wartime note under emergency conditions that had effectively stripped Portugal's colonial banking system of its metallic small change. By 1918, the hoarding of copper and bronze coins — accelerated by World War I and the economic disruption of the Portuguese Republic's early years — had created a genuine transactional void at the lowest denomination levels, forcing BNU to authorize paper substitutes that would have been considered absurd in peacetime.
Annuncio Commercial was a Lisbon commercial printer, not a specialist security printer. The choice reflects how severely constrained BNU's options were at this moment.