100 Patacas Return to China

Issued to mark the handover of Macau to the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999, ending 442 years of Portuguese administration — the longest European colonial presence in Asia. Portugal had held Macau since 1557, initially as a trading post licensed by the Ming dynasty rather than a formal territorial possession, a legal ambiguity that persisted for centuries.

The handover came two years after Hong Kong's, and the terms were negotiated under the same "one country, two systems" framework. Macau's gaming monopoly, which funded most of the territory's public revenue, was left intact under the agreement.