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500 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco de Angola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Escudo (1958-1977) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANCO DE ANGOLA QUINHENTOS ESCUDOS PEDRAS NEGRAS (Translation: Bank of Angola, Five Hundred Escudos, Black Rocks) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Portrait watermark of Marshal António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Angola's 500 Escudos issue of 1972 arrived at an awkward moment: the colonial war against MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA insurgencies had been grinding on since 1961, and the Bank of Angola was printing high-denomination notes into an economy increasingly distorted by military expenditure and wartime capital flight. Portuguese metropolitan banks were absorbing colonial revenues while infrastructure investment stalled. A 500 Escudos note represented real purchasing power in that environment — not pocket change.
Thomas De La Rue's production is clean and technically competent, as expected. The watermark remains the primary security feature, modest by the standards of the period but sufficient for a territory where counterfeit risk was lower than political risk.