5 Patacas

Macau's silver 5 Patacas coinage of this period was struck under Portuguese colonial administration, a jurisdiction that would persist until 1999. The .650 fine silver specification — lower than the earlier KM#5 issue — reflects a deliberate reduction made as silver prices climbed through the late 1960s, pushing the intrinsic value of higher-fineness coins dangerously close to face value.

The KM#5a designation distinguishes this alloy revision from its predecessor. Relatively low mintage figures and the coin's modest size kept it from heavy commercial circulation, which accounts for the frequency of better-preserved survivors today.