1000 Kwanzas

Angola's first post-independence currency series was issued under severe economic strain — civil war had been grinding since 1975, and the kwanza itself had only been introduced in 1977 to replace the escudo at par. This 1000 Kwanza note sits at the top of that initial series, a denomination whose real purchasing power was already eroding fast by the time these notes reached circulation.

P#117 was printed by the German firm Giesecke & Devrient. Worth noting for collectors: paper quality and ink registration on this series vary enough between print runs that minor color shifts should not automatically be read as fakes.