Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Patacas Year of the Dragon
| Issuer | Macau |
|---|---|
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Patacas |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | A finely detailed rendering of the façade of the Ruins of St. Paul's Church (São Paulo), Macau's most celebrated landmark, occupies the central field. The baroque stonework of the multi-tiered façade is depicted with high relief, including columns, niches, and decorative carvings. Eight five-pointed stars are arranged in a semicircle to the left and right of the building. The legend 'MACAU' arcs along the upper periphery in large Latin capital letters, while the date '2000' is inscribed in the lower field, flanking the base of the façade. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Issued by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino under the Macau Monetary Authority, this piece falls within a long-running lunar series that Macau has produced since the 1970s — one of the earliest Asian territories to mint gold bullion coins exploiting Western collector appetite for the Chinese zodiac cycle. The year 2000 Dragon issue carried particular commercial weight: the dragon year coincides with a spike in birth rates across Chinese communities, and demand for commemorative pieces tied to it was unusually high across the region.
Macau reverted to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999, meaning this coin was struck under the newly established Macau SAR — the first Dragon year piece issued under that administration.