Angolan kwanza

This article is about the currency kwanza. For the river in Angola, see Cuanza River. For the American holiday, see Kwanzaa.
Angolan kwanza
ISO 4217
Code AOA
Denominations
Subunit
1/100 cêntimo
Symbol Kz
Banknotes 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 kwanzas
Coins
Freq. used 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 kwanzas
Rarely used 10, 50 cêntimos
Demographics
User(s)  Angola
Issuance
Central bank Banco Nacional de Angola
Website www.bna.ao
Valuation
Inflation 35%
Source The World Factbook, 2009 est.

The kwanza (sign: Kz; ISO 4217 code: AOA) is the currency of Angola. Four different currencies using the name kwanza have circulated since 1977.

Overview

Start date Finish date ISO 4217 Currency unit Subunit Notes
8 Jan 1977 24 Sep 1990 AOK Kwanza 100 lwei 1 kwanza = 1 Angolan escudo
25 Sep 1990 30 Jun 1995 AON Novo kwanza none 1 novo kwanza = 1 kwanza
1 Jul 1995 30 Nov 1999 AOR Kwanza reajustado none 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas
1 Dec 1999 present AOA Kwanza 100 cêntimos 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

First Kwanza, AOK, 1975-1990

Kwanza was introduced following Angolan independence. It replaced the escudo at par and was subdivided into 100 lwei. Its ISO 4217 code was AOK.

Coins

The first coins issued for the kwanza currency did not bear any date of issue, although all bore the date of independence, "11 de Novembro de 1975". They were in denominations of 50 lwei, 1, 2, 5 and 10 kwanzas. 20 kwanza coins were added in 1978. The last date to appear on these coins was 1979.

Banknotes

On 8 January 1977, banknotes dated 11 DE NOVEMBRO DE 1975 were introduced by the Banco Nacional de Angola (National Bank of Angola) in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 kwanzas.[1] The 20 kwanza note was replaced by a coin in 1978.

Novo kwanza, AON, 1990-1995

In 1990, the novo kwanza was introduced, with the ISO 4217 code AON. Although it replaced the kwanza at par, Angolans could only exchange 5% of all old notes for new ones; they had to exchange the rest for government securities. This kwanza suffered from high inflation.

Banknotes

This currency was only issued in note form. The first banknotes issued in 1990 were overprints on earlier notes in denominations of 50 (report not confirmed), 500, 1000 and 5000 novos kwanzas (5000 novos kwanzas overprinted on 100 kwanzas). In 1991, the word novo was dropped from the issue of regular banknotes for 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 kwanzas.

Kwanza reajustado, AOR, 1995-1999

In 1995, the kwanza reajustado replaced the previous kwanza at a rate of 1,000 to 1. It had the ISO 4217 code AOR. The inflation continued and no coins were issued.

Banknotes

Despite the exchange rate, such was the low value of the old kwanza that the smallest denomination of banknote issued was 1000 kwanza reajustado. Other notes were 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 kwanzas.

Second kwanza, AOA, 1999-

In 1999, a second currency was introduced simply called the kwanza. It replaced the kwanza reajustado at a rate of 1,000,000 to 1. Unlike the first kwanza, this currency is subdivided into 100 cêntimos. The introduction of this currency saw the reintroduction of coins. Although it suffered early on from high inflation, its value has now stabilized.

Coins

Coins
Value Technical parameters Description Date of first minting
Diameter Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
10 cêntimos 15 mm 1.5 g Copper plated steel Plain State title, Coat of arms, year Value 1999
50 cêntimos 18 mm 3 g
1 kwanza 21 mm 4.5 g Cupronickel Reeded State title, Coat of arms, year Value 1999
2 kwanzas 22 mm 5 g
5 kwanzas 26 mm 7 g
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Coins in 10 and 50 cêntimo denominations are no longer used, as the values are minuscule.

Coins
Value Technical parameters Description Date of first minting
Diameter Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
50 cêntimos 20.6 mm 3.8 g Copper-nickel plated steel Plain State title, Coat of arms, year Value 2012
1 kwanza 22.1 mm 5.0 g Brass plated steel Plain
5 kwanzas 25 mm 7.0 g Bi-metallic nickel-brass centre in copper-nickel ring Reeded
10 kwanzas 27 mm 8.0 g Bi-metallic copper-nickel centre in nickel-brass ring Reeded
20 kwanzas 28 mm 11.64 g Bi-metallic steel centre in brass ring Interrupted reeded 2014
50 kwanzas ? mm ? g Copper-nickel Plain 40 years of independence 2015
100 kwanzas ? mm ? g Brass Plain
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

During 2012-14, new coins were introduced in denominations of 50 cêntimos, 1, 5, 10 and 20 kwanzas.

Banknotes

Banknotes of the Angolan Kwanza (1999 series)
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse Watermark printing issue
1 kwanza Pink Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos Women picking cotton Sculpture October 1999 1 December 1999
5 kwanzas Light green Serra da Leba
10 kwanzas Red 2 antelopes
50 kwanzas Lime Off-shore oil rig
100 kwanzas Yellow-brown Banco Nacional de Angola
200 kwanzas Lilac Aerial view of Luanda November 2003 19 July 2004
500 kwanzas Orange Cotton
1000 kwanzas Rose Coffee plantation
2000 kwanzas Lime Sea shore 2006
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The banknotes are quite similar in design, with only different colours separating them.

The Banco National de Angola issued a new series of kwanza banknotes on March 22, 2013 in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 kwanzas. The other denominations (1000, 2000 and 5000 kwanzas) were issued on May 31, 2013.[2][3]

Historical exchange rates

This table shows the historical value of one U.S. dollar in Angola kwanzas:

Date Currency code and Name Rate
1994 AON novo kwanza 34,200 to 850,000
January to June 1995 AON novo kwanza 1,000,000 to 2,100,000
1 July 1995 1000 AON → 1 AOR (kwanza reajustado)
July to December 1995 AOR kwanza reajustado 2,100 to 13,000
1996 AOR kwanza reajustado 13,000 to 210,000 to 194,000
1997 AOR kwanza reajustado 194,000 to 253,300
1998 AOR kwanza reajustado 253,300 to 594,000
1999 AOR kwanza reajustado 594,000 to 5,400,000
1 December 1999 1 million AOR → 1 AOA (kwanza)
2000 AOA kwanza 5.4 to 16.3
2001 AOA kwanza 16.3 to 31.12
2002 AOA kwanza 31.12 to 57.47
2003 AOA kwanza 57.47 to 86.88 to 78.61
2004 AOA kwanza 78.61 to 85.90
2005 AOA kwanza 85.90 to 88.97 to 80.58
2006 AOA kwanza 80.58 to 89.01 to 80.57
2007 AOA kwanza 80.57 to 74.78 to 75.16
2008 AOA kwanza 75.16 to -

On several occasions during the 1990s, Angola's currency was the least valued currency unit in the world.

Current AOA exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From XE: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW

Production

The Angolan kwanza banknotes have been produced by De La Rue in England.

See also

References

  1. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Angola". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
  2. Angola new 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-kwanza notes confirmed BanknoteNews.com. April 11, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-04-11.
  3. Angola new 1,000-, 2,000-, and 5,000-kwanza notes confirmed BanknoteNews.com. June 24, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-06-27.

External links

Kwanza
Preceded by:
Angolan escudo
Reason: independence (in 1975)
Ratio: at par
Currency of Angola
1977 1990
Succeeded by:
Novo kwanza
Reason: government seized part of the money supply
Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)
Novo kwanza
Preceded by:
Kwanza
Reason: government seized part of the money supply
Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)
Currency of Angola
1990 1995
Succeeded by:
Kwanza reajustado
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas
Kwanza reajustado
Preceded by:
Novo kwanza
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas
Currency of Angola
1995 1999
Succeeded by:
Kwanza
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados
Kwanza
Preceded by:
Kwanza reajustado
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados
Currency of Angola
1999
Succeeded by:
Current
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.