Catalog
500 Patacas
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is rendered in olive-green and pale aqua tones, centred on a panoramic intaglio vignette of the Macau-Taipa Bridge (Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge) set against the modern Macau skyline with high-rise buildings along the waterfront. A circular seal vignette appears at left, and elaborate guilloche rosettes occupy the outer corners. The bank title BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO is inscribed across the top, with the denomination QUINHENTAS PATACAS and 伍百 repeated in the lower register. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark, Security thread |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banco Nacional Ultramarino had been issuing currency in Macau since 1905, but by 1999 the clock was running out — the territory's handover to China was set for December 20th of that year, ending four and a half centuries of Portuguese administration. This 500 Pataca note is among the last issues under that authority, printed by Thomas De La Rue in London before the Instituto Emissor de Macau formally absorbed currency responsibilities following the transition.
The pataca itself survived the handover, remaining legal tender alongside the Hong Kong dollar, which continues to circulate in Macau at a fixed peg.