100 Dobras Independence

São Tomé and Príncipe gained independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975, after centuries of colonial rule and a relatively bloodless transition negotiated largely through the Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe. The 1985 issue marks the tenth anniversary of that independence — a politically significant moment for a nation still consolidating its single-party state under the MLSTP. The dobra itself had only been introduced at independence, replacing the Portuguese escudo at par.

The Banco Nacional was established simultaneously with independence, making these early commemorative issues among the first assertions of autonomous monetary policy by one of Africa's smallest and most isolated island economies.