1000 Patacas Year of the Pig

Macau's lunar gold series launched in 1981 under the administration of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, which retained note-issuing authority in the territory long after Portuguese colonial administration had effectively ceded most governing functions to local bodies following the 1974 Carnation Revolution. The 1983 Pig issue appeared during a period of acute political ambiguity — Sino-Portuguese negotiations over the territory's future were already informally underway, years before the 1987 Joint Declaration formalized the 1999 handover.

Mintages for these early lunar issues were kept deliberately low, targeting the overseas Chinese collector market in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.