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500 Meticais Independence
| Issuer | Banco de Moçambique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 19.4 g |
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| Obverse description | The national coat of arms of the People's Republic of Mozambique is depicted prominently in the upper central field, featuring a radiating sun rising over an open book, a hoe and a Kalashnikov rifle crossed in saltire, all encircled by a wreath of maize and bound by a ribbon inscribed REPÚBLICA POPULAR DE MOÇAMBIQUE, surmounted by a five-pointed star. The circular legend REPÚBLICA POPULAR DE MOÇAMBIQUE runs along the periphery. Below the arms, the denomination 500 METICAIS is inscribed in large characters, with the date 1980 arranged across the lower field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in June 1975 after a decade-long armed struggle led by FRELIMO, but the new government faced immediate economic collapse as roughly 90% of the Portuguese settler population — who had staffed most technical and administrative roles — fled the country within months. This coin was issued five years into that turbulent reconstruction period, when the Banco de Moçambique was still establishing the basic institutional infrastructure of a functioning central bank.
The .800 silver fineness is notably below the .925 standard common to commemorative issues of the period, a choice almost certainly driven by foreign exchange constraints rather than convention.