The governor of the National Bank of Angola, José Lima Massano, used the 45th anniversary of the nation’s independence from Portugal to announce that a new family of kwanza bank notes would enter circulation July 30.

Four of the notes, the 200-, 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-kwanza bank notes, will be printed on a polymer substrate, while the 5,000-kwanza note’s substrate will be cotton. A 10,000-kwanza note was also announced but Massano said circulation “is not expected, unless it is absolutely necessary.” (A 1,000-kwanza note is the equivalent of about $1.74.)

After the 200-kwanza note is released in July, the 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-kwanza notes will follow in September, October, and November. The 5,000-kwanza note will be available in January 2021.

Massano said the new series was inspired by the greatness of independent Angola. The notes have as the main image a bust of the first president of the Republic, Dr. António Agostinho Neto, who proclaimed national independence on Nov. 11, 1975. The reverses reflect the country’s natural wonders.

The reverses are as follows: 200 kwanzas, the Black Stones of Pungo Andongo rock formations; 500 kwanzas, the 7,200-foot Tundavala Cleft; 1,000 kwanzas, the Central Plateau mountain range; 2,000 kwanzas, the Leba mountain range; 5,000 kwanzas, the Ruins of the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Congo, built by the Portuguese in the 15th century; and 10,000 kwanzas, the caves of Nzenzo.

The new notes will circulate with the existing 2012 series until Dec. 31, 2021. Governor Massano told Angola Press that the bank will spend the equivalent of $30 million to issue the new notes. This is the same amount it spends to maintain the current paper kwanza in circulation every two years.

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