Two Patacas
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: SALSA MAZLAN
- Published: June 2, 2025
Historical background
- Macao SAR is one of only a handful of places where different commercial banks issue their own versions of the same banknotes.
- In 1901, while still under Portuguese rule, the colonial government gave the Banco Nacional Ultramarino the exclusive right to print pataca banknotes.
- As part of negotiations leading to the Chinese handover in 1999, a second commercial bank, the Bank of China, was authorized to issue legal tender; today both banks share the right to print banknotes.
- The 20-pataca note is the region’s most widely used denomination.
Bank of China 20-pataca note — design and symbolism
- Front:
- Features a Southern lion, a fixture of the Spring Festival, symbolizing openness, inclusiveness, and determination to forge ahead.
- Depicts the Bank of China’s local branch building, described as 160-meter-high, behind the lion in a vivid violet spread.
- Includes a flowering lotus, Macao’s floral emblem, representing prosperity.
- Reverse:
- Shows Macao’s science center, designed by Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei, and its planetarium.
- Planetarium imagery references 3D constellation exhibits beamed onto a domed ceiling, nodding to the region’s science and technology scene.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino 20-pataca note — design and symbolism
- The Banco Nacional Ultramarino is described as 161-year-old.
- The note explores Macao’s maritime roots:
- Features old and new facades of the bank’s headquarters.
- Includes a map of Macao from 1780.
- Decorative elements: sampans and sailing junks, a compass, lotus flowers, and a banyan tree.
- Uses cartographic imagery to chart the port city’s evolution across centuries of seafaring history, according to De La Rue, the company that designed the note.
Macao context and economic snapshot
- Governance and systems:
- Macao operates its own legal, economic, and administrative systems under the “one country, two systems” framework.
- Geography and demographics:
- Area: 12.7 square miles.
- Noted as one of the world’s most densely populated places.
- Economy:
- Per capita income: about $67,500 a year.
- Economy driven primarily by tourism and gaming; described as the “world’s casino capital.”
- Cultural synthesis:
- Macao’s blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures creates a unique melting pot where old meets new, and East meets West.
- The 20-pataca note is framed as honoring the city’s enduring traditions while celebrating its continuing leaps into the future.
F&D Magazine — "Two Patacas", Salsa Mazlan, June 2025.