Mozambique Escudo
The Mozambique escudo connected the territory’s colonial monetary system with the first years of independence, culminating in Banco de Moçambique provisional overprints before the metical replaced it at par in 1980.
Quick Facts
Country: Mozambique
Code: MZE
System: Decimal (1 Escudo = 100 Centavos)
Status: Withdrawn
Issuer: Bank of Mozambique
The Story of the Mozambique Escudo
The Mozambique escudo belonged to the country’s colonial monetary system, but it remained in use during the first years after independence. Banco de Moçambique was established on 17 May 1975 and inherited the assets and responsibilities of the Mozambique department of Banco Nacional Ultramarino, the institution that had issued much of the territory’s paper money.
Existing Banco Nacional Ultramarino notes continued to circulate during the transition. Selected denominations were subsequently marked with a prominent black BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE overprint, placing the inherited banknotes under the authority of the new national institution without removing their original designs, dates or signatures.
These provisional issues record a short but important monetary phase. The underlying notes still reflect Portuguese colonial administration, while the overprint identifies the institution created for independent Mozambique. Both periods are therefore visible on the same banknote.
In 1980 Mozambique introduced the metical and organized the exchange of the colonial escudo. The change ended the escudo period and established a national monetary unit issued by Banco de Moçambique.
Design & Symbolism
Mozambique’s provisional escudo banknotes preserve the formal engraving and heraldic imagery of Banco Nacional Ultramarino while adding a direct statement of the new issuing authority. The black BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE overprint is deliberately conspicuous, crossing the original composition rather than attempting to conceal it.
The P-117 100-escudo note uses green, violet and pale blue. Its face presents Aires de Ornelas in an oval portrait frame, Portuguese heraldry, the original Banco Nacional Ultramarino title and the later Banco de Moçambique overprint. The reverse is organized around the BNU seal with a steamship, a broad geometric guilloche and the denomination expressed in Portuguese.
The P-118 500-escudo note is dominated by violet and muted brown. Caldas Xavier appears at the right of the face, balanced by the denomination and central heraldic elements. The reverse places the Mozambique coat of arms at the centre, with the Banco Nacional Ultramarino name retained along the lower frame.
The visual importance of both notes lies in this institutional layering. Colonial portraits, inscriptions and emblems remain intact, while the new bank’s name changes how the note is understood. The design was inherited, but the authority represented by it had changed.
For collectors
P-117 and P-118 should be identified as Banco de Moçambique provisional issues rather than treated simply as ordinary Banco Nacional Ultramarino notes. The horizontal black BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE overprint is the defining attribution feature.
The dates printed on the notes belong to the original BNU issues, not to the later overprinting phase. P-117 carries the Lisbon date 27 March 1961, while P-118 carries 22 March 1967. The original signatures and much of the colonial design were also retained.
The two types are readily separated by denomination and portrait. P-117 is the green and violet 100-escudo note featuring Aires de Ornelas. P-118 is the violet 500-escudo note featuring Caldas Xavier and a different reverse arrangement centred on the Mozambique coat of arms.
For catalogue consistency, these notes belong under Mozambique Escudo and Bank of Mozambique, with Pick references P-117 and P-118. They should remain separate from the later Mozambique Metical issues, which represent the national monetary system introduced in 1980.
Introduced for overseas accounting on 1 January 1914 at 1 escudo = 100 centavos; replaced at par by the metical on 16 June 1980.
