2.000 Reis

The Junta da Fazenda Pública da Província d'Angola — the provincial treasury board rather than any banking institution — issued this note in 1861, making it among the earliest paper money produced within Angola itself. Local printing in Luanda was a practical necessity given the logistical realities of mid-nineteenth century Portuguese colonial administration, but it also meant limited production quality and inconsistent ink application across the series. The result was a note that was easy to counterfeit and difficult to authenticate, problems that plagued the series from the outset.

Portuguese Angola's monetary situation in this period was genuinely chaotic — copper coin shortages were chronic, and notes like this one circulated alongside a tangle of colonial scrip, metropolitan currency, and commodity-based exchange. Pick 2 is exceptionally rare today.