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500 Patacas
| Issuer | Banco Nacional Ultramarino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by an olive-green and yellow-ochre colour scheme with intricate guilloche underprint. At centre-right, an intaglio vignette presents the façade of the A-Ma Temple (Lin Fong Miu), rendered in fine line engraving. The bank title BANCO NACIONAL ULTRAMARINO and the bilingual inscription 大西洋銀行 MACAU appear across the upper portion, with the denomination QUINHENTAS PATACAS / 伍佰圓 at centre. Decree-law references, the issue date MACAU, 20 DE DEZEMBRO DE 1999, and two signature panels for the CONSELHO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO and DIRECTOR-GERAL DO DEPARTAMENTO DE MACAU appear in the lower field. |
|---|---|
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| 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. |
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| 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.