5 Meticais

Mozambique's 2006 coinage reform replaced the old metical at a rate of 1,000 to 1, collapsing a currency that had been gutted by decades of civil war and the hyperinflationary spiral that followed independence from Portugal in 1975. The 5 meticais sits near the top of the circulating series introduced under that redenomination, which was legally enacted through the Bank of Mozambique's monetary reform decree of 2005.

Nickel-plated steel was chosen across the new series largely on cost grounds, a practical decision for one of the world's lower-income economies at the time of issue.