A one Rupee note issued by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino in Goa in 1917, £13,000 at Noonans.
A shortage of coinage in the First World War had led to the production of these emergency small change banknotes across the Portuguese colonies. However, when in 1921 the currency laws changed most were withdrawn and replaced by notes of a different colour. Head of banknotes Andrew Pattison further explains its rarity: “The first batch of notes, of which this is one, were not even in full circulation when the second batch arrived. As a result, the first batch is far scarcer than the second.”
To illustrate the point, an example of the second issue One Rupee note also appeared in this auction selling at £2600 at the August 25 sale.
