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5 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central oval vignette of a seated allegorical female figure with ships visible in the distance, enclosed within a circular guilloche band bearing the bank name. Numeral 5 appears in intaglio at both left and right flanking the central vignette, with elaborate guilloche scrollwork filling the side panels. Printer's imprint appears at the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | PAGAVEL NAS DEPENDENCIAS DA PROVINCIA DE ANGOLA 5 BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO 5 (Translation: Payable on the premises of the province of Angola, National Overseas Bank) |
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| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino occupied a peculiar constitutional space in Portuguese imperial finance — it was a private institution holding the note-issuing monopoly across Portugal's overseas territories, not a state central bank. This 5 Escudos note from 1921 would have circulated in one of those territories, though the specific branch of issue determines which: the BNU operated parallel series for Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, São Tomé, and others, all sharing Bradbury Wilkinson-printed stock that was differentiated by overprint or branch designation.
Bradbury Wilkinson's engraved intaglio work for colonial issuers was among the most technically refined of the period. The firm held contracts across dozens of dependencies simultaneously.