100 Patacas Year of the Monkey

Macau's lunar series issues are struck under the Monetary Authority of Macao, which has operated independently from mainland Chinese monetary institutions since the 1999 handover from Portugal. The 2016 Monkey issue falls within the fifth cycle of the Chinese zodiac series — a program that has run long enough that early-cycle counterparts in comparable formats now trade at substantial premiums over their later iterations.

The five-ounce format was adopted to satisfy collector demand for higher-silver-content pieces without crossing into the unwieldy ten-ounce category. Mintages on these larger Macanese lunar pieces are tightly controlled and rarely disclosed in full by the issuing authority.