Portuguese Guinea, which was also known as the Overseas Province of Guinea and later on, the State of Guinea, was a part of the West African colony of Portugal. The country achieved its independence from Portugal on September 10, 1974, and called Guinea-Bissau in the present day. Situated on the west coast of Africa, the colony was bordered by French Guinea to the south and Senegal to the north.
The colony was using the Portuguese Guinean escudo between 1914 and 1975, a currency at par with the Portuguese escudo. The Banco Nacional Ultramarino, a Portuguese bank operating in Portugal’s overseas territories, was the issuing authority of the Portuguese Guinean escudo. In 1914, the bank introduced notes in 10, 20, and 50 centavos denominations. Larger denominations ranging from 1 escudo to 100 escudos were released in 1921, and in 1945, the bank began issuing the 500 escudo banknote. Finally, in 1945, it issued 1000 escudos for the first time.
