2 Macutas - Maria I and Pedro III

Angola's colonial coinage of this period was produced under the joint reign designation of Maria I and her uncle-husband Pedro III, who co-ruled Portugal from 1777 until Pedro's death in 1786. The macuta system was a specifically Angolan denomination structure — not used in metropolitan Portugal — developed to facilitate trade in a colonial economy where Brazilian gold, Portuguese silver, and local commodity currencies all competed in the same markets. Counterfeiting of these small-denomination pieces was a persistent problem in Luanda, and Portuguese authorities repeatedly had to withdraw and restrike issues within short windows.