The first Europeans to visit Angola were the Portuguese. This happened in 1482. Portuguese missionaries convert the local ruler to Christianity. Thanks to this, Christianity is rapidly spreading among the locals. At that time, the territory of modern Angola was occupied by the Negro Kingdom of Congo. In 1571, it became a vassal of Portugal. The Portuguese begin capturing slaves to sell to the planters of South and Central America. Over the course of three centuries, at least 5,000,000 Negroes were exported from Angola. Gradually, the Portuguese moved deeper into the continent, subjugating all new territories. The process of territorial expansion continued until 1885. In 1885, the Portuguese protectorate of Cabinda was created. In 1886, it was renamed Portuguese Congo. Thus, Angola officially becomes a colony. The borders of the colony were finally approved in 1891 after the signing of a treaty with Great Britain.
The colonial regime remained unchanged until 1951, when Angola was granted the status of an overseas territory of Portugal. In 1961, the Angolan War of Independence begins. The war lasted 14 years and ended with the proclamation of the Republic of Angola on November 11, 1975.
The history of monetary circulation in Angola begins in the XVII century. At that time, Brazilian copper coins in denominations of 5, 10 and 20 reales were used here. The first Angolan coins were minted in 1762. The currency of Angola became the maсuta, equal to 50 reales. Coins of the following denominations were minted: - 1/4, 1/2 and 1 macuta (copper) - 2, 4, 6 and 8 macuta (silver .917, weight - 2,95 g., 5,7 g., 8,75 g. and 11,7 g.) At the beginning of the XIX century, copper coins were minted with a face value of 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 2 maсutа. In accordance with the law of April 18, 1809, the following counterstamps were applied to Angolan coins: - 10 reales on 1/4 macuta - 20 reales on 1/2 macuta - 40 reales on 1 macuta - 80 reales on 2 macuta In accordance with the law of March 21, 1837, an additional counterstamp was applied to the coins: thus the denomination of the coins was doubled (10 reales = 20 reales, 20 reales = 40 reales etc.).
In 1910, Pogrtugalia was proclaimed a republic. A new currency, the escudo, was adopted. 1 escudo was equal to 100 centavos. Since that time, the escudo has also become the monetary unit of Angola. At the same time, the issue of coins in denominations of 1, 2 and 4 maсuta continued. Now 1 maсuta was equal to 5 centavos. Coins of the following denominations were minted: - 1, 2 and 5 centavos (bronze) - 1 macuta (nickel-bronze), was equal to 5 centavos - 10 centavos (copper-nickel), at 1948-49 - bronze, and at 1974 - aluminium - 2 macuta (copper-nickel), was equal to 10 centavos - 20 centavos (copper-nickel), at 1948-49 and 1962 - bronze - 4 macuta (copper-nickel), was equal to 20 centavos - 50 centavos (copper-nickel), since the 1927 - nickel-bronze, since the 1953 - bronze, and at 1973 - copper-nickel - 1 escudo (bronze) - 2-1/2 escudos (copper-nickel) - 5 escudos (copper-nickel) - 10 escudos (at 1952 & 1955 - silver .720, weight - 5 g., at 1969-70 - copper-nickel) - 20 escudos (at 1952 & 1955 - silver .720, weight - 5 g., at 1971-72 - nickel).
50 centavos 1928, nickel-bronze, weight - 9,81 g., size - 30,42 mm, thickness - 1,8 mm, mintage - 1600000 pcs. Engraver: Alves do Rego. Such coins were released at 1927 & 1928.
1 escudo 1974, bronze, weight - 8 g., size - 26 mm, thickness - 2 mm, mintage - 6214000 pcs. Such coins were released at 1953, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1972 & 1974.
2-1/2 escudos 1967, copper-nickel, weight - 3,5 g., size - 20 mm, thickness - 1,46 mm, mintage - 6000000 pcs. Such coins were released at 1953, 1956, 1967-69 & 1974.
10 escudos 1955, silver .720, weight - 5 g., size - 24 mm, thickness - 1,4 mm, mintage - 1977000 pcs. Such coins were released at 1952 & 1955.
20 escudos 1955, silver .720, weight - 10 g., size - 30 mm, mintage - 996850 pcs. Such coins were released at 1952 & 1955.
20 escudos 1971, nickel, weight - 12 g., size - 30 mm, thickness - 2,2 mm, mintage - 1572000 pcs. Such coins were released at 1971 & 1972.
A few years back I was obsessed with Angola countermarks on the late-18th Century giant coppers. Most of mine are bigger than US silver dollars. The countermarks are crude arms of Portugal. They are fairly common, but as with so many coins, the prices have risen over the past few years. According to Krause these were countermarked in 1814 to double face value. The OP states 1809, which may be right. I never found out a lot about these, so I am no expert. I never photographed these, so all I have are eBay seller photos:
I’ll have to do one of these posts with my Argentina collection. I have over 200 different Argentinian coins
Very nice post @Siberian Man I just realised two things about Angola: - How little I knew about it - I don’t have any coin from there
Thanks for posting, Eugene. Colonial coins always have interesting stories. Me neither. This thread reminded me that I need both colonial Angola and independent Angola for my son's OFEC collection.
I've been lucky enough to find a whole bunch of coins from Angola recently at my local coin shop. I don't have pictures of all of them but here are a few. (the 1814 I purchased on eBay).
Some of my favorites from Angola. 1762 1/4 Macutta 1785 Macuta 1796 10 Macuta 1814 Macuta 1837 countermarked on a 1786 1/2 Macuta
Great posts and very educational, thanks! I do have some Angola coins from the Portuguese colonial period, however I lack any of the earlier macuta type coins. I will work to remedy that soon. I see I have 10 coins, here are 2.
