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500 Escudos
| Issuer | Banco de Angola |
|---|---|
| Year | 1973 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 150 × 75 mm |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by an intaglio portrait vignette of the Portuguese poet Luís Vaz de Camões (1524–1580), rendered in armour and a laurel wreath, positioned to the right of centre. The upper left carries the issuing authority legend 'BANCO DE ANGOLA', while the colonial coat of arms of Angola appears in the upper right quadrant above the serial number and numeral '500'; the denomination 'QUINHENTOS ESCUDOS' is set centrally across a fine guilloche underprint. A circular watermark zone occupies the left field, with the serial number repeated below it and the date '10 DE JUNHO DE 1973' together with the Governor and Vice-Governor signature lines running along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
By 1973, Angola was deep into the colonial war that had been grinding since 1961, and the Banco de Angola was still issuing notes under Portuguese authority with no indication of how little time remained for that arrangement. This 500 Escudos note was printed just two years before the April 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon ended the Estado Novo regime and set decolonization in motion — notes from this final series circulated into a period of extraordinary political turbulence.
Bradbury Wilkinson had handled Angolan currency printing for decades by this point, operating from their New Malden facility in Surrey. The escudo was replaced by the kwanza in 1977, two years after independence, rendering this series obsolete within a very short window of circulation.