500 Meticais

Mozambique's central bank shifted to polymer for this denomination as part of a broader currency modernization push, following the lead of several other southern African issuers who had already moved away from cotton-based substrate in the previous decade. Polymer notes in the region have shown significantly longer circulation lifespans — roughly two to four times that of paper — a practical consideration for a country where high humidity and heavy daily handling degrade cotton notes quickly.

P#159 is among the more recent additions to the Pick catalogue and secondary market data on survival rates and printing quantities remains thin.