50 Escudos Macelina

Cape Verde's post-independence monetary system was established following the 1975 separation from Portugal, with the Banco de Cabo Verde assuming full issuing authority. The escudo was retained as the unit of account — a pragmatic holdover — and pegged to the Portuguese escudo until the Euro transition complicated that arrangement. By the early 1990s, the archipelago was producing a distinctive series of coins celebrating endemic and native species, of which the macelina belongs.

KM#44 is part of that fauna series. Nickel-plated steel replaced earlier cupronickel in this period as cost-cutting across smaller African issuing authorities became standard practice following commodity price pressures in the late 1980s.