100 Meticais

Mozambique's first post-independence banknote series, of which this is part, was introduced in 1980 following the abolition of the colonial escudo and the establishment of the metical as national currency — a process formalized in 1980, four years after FRELIMO took power. The contract with Thomas De La Rue was a pragmatic choice; the new government had no domestic printing infrastructure, and De La Rue had long serviced colonial-era Mozambican currency through Banco Nacional Ultramarino.

The watermark is the sole security feature, modest by any measure for a high-denomination note in active circulation during a period of significant economic instability and civil conflict with RENAMO.