Mozambique 1971 5 escudos

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This type was struck in 1971 and 1973 for the Portuguese colony of Mozambique. The 1971 is the more common date. By the early seventies, the Portuguese army was losing its fight for control of Portugal's remaining colonies, particularly Mozambique and Angola. The Portuguese left in 1975 and the country promptly descended into a multilateral civil war. Wikipedia comments, "An estimated one million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7 million took refuge in neighbouring states, and several million more were internally displaced."

Recorded mintage: 8,000,000.

Specification: 7 g, copper-nickel, 24.2 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM 86.

Source:

• Alberto Gomes and Francisco Antonio Magro, Moedas Portuguesas e do Território Que Hoje é Portugal: Catálogo das Moedas Cunhadas para o Continentes e Ilhas Adjacentes, para os Territórios do Ultramar e Grão-Mestres Portugueses da Ordem de Malta, 6ª Edição, Lisbon: Associação Numismática de Portugal, 2013.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1960 5 escudos
• 1970 10 escudos
• 1971 20 escudos
• 1973 20 centavos
• 1973 5 escudos
• Coins and currency dated 1971