MACUTA: COIN OF PORTUGUESE ANGOLA
4 macuta, 1928: Portuguese Angola
The denomination of the coin is indicated in two ways: in traditional macutas and more modern centavos.VINTE CENTAVOS: twenty centavos.
IIII MACUTAS: 4 macutas (unusual for today writing of the Latin number 4 — IIIIII instead of IV; it is also found on older coins of Germany, Lithuania...).
Coat of arms of Portugal (version without laurel branches, for use on the national flag, naval jack and some governmental flags).
REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA - ANGOLA.
The figure of the Republic (Portuguese "Efígie da República") — national personification in Brazil and Portugal, symbolizing the Republic.
Coin design: Domingos Alves do Rego ("REGO GR" mark under the portrait of the symbolic Republic).
Casa da Moeda de Lisboa (Portugal; in 1972 it was merged with the Imprensa Nacional into Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda).
Mintage: 500.000 (a much rarer type than 1927).
- Copper-nickel: 24 мм - 4.38 g
- Reference price: 12$
COIN MACUTA — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- PORTUGUESE ANGOLA (1762-1928): macuta = 50 réis (1927-1928: 5 centavo = 1/20 escudo)
MACUTA as coin name.
Macuta — historical coin that was minted by Portugal for its colony Angola during the 18th-20th centuries.
In addition, makuta (instead of "macuta") is the plural form of likuta — the name of the exchange coin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 1971 — Zaire) during 1967-1997. For example: 1 likuta, but 2 makuta; while for the Angolan coins: 1 macuta, 2 macuta...
Starting from the middle of the 18th century, the macuta was issued by the Portuguese administration for colonial Angola, initially in the form of copper (1/4, 1/2 and 1 macuta) and silver (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 macuta) coins, later — exclusively copper.
Until 1860, the macuta consisted of 50 reis (plural for "real") and contained the legend "Africa Portugueza" (English "Portuguese Africa").
After the introduction of the escudo in Angola at the beginning of the 20th century, macuta production was briefly resumed. In particular, in 1927-1928, three Angolan colonial coins appeared with double denominations: 1 macuta / 5 centavos, 2 macutas / 10 centavos and 4 macutas / 20 centavos.
Regarding the origin of the name of the macuta coin: in ancient times in the Portuguese lands in Africa, this term was used to denote pieces of valuable fabric that served as a substitute for money for a long time (from "dikuta", which from the kikongo language means a fabric woven from palm leaves).
