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currency
The metical (; plural: meticais) is the currency of Mozambique, abbreviated with the symbol MZN or MT. It is nominally divided into 100 centavos. The name metical comes from Arabic مثقال (mithqāl), a unit of weight and an alternative name for the gold dinar coin that was used throughout much of Africa until the 19th century.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Mozambican metical”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The metical (; plural: meticais) is the currency of Mozambique, abbreviated with the symbol MZN or MT. It is nominally divided into 100 centavos. The name metical comes from Arabic مثقال (mithqāl), a unit of weight and an alternative name for the gold dinar coin that was used throughout much of Africa until the 19th century.
The metical (MZM) replaced the escudo at par on 16 June 1980. The metical was announced by Samora Machel on 15 June 1980 at 8pm, and was officially introduced the next day, which was also the 20th anniversary of the Mueda massacre.
Machel saw the introduction of the metical as a matter of patriotic importance; it represented the elimination of Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique and positively reflected on the efforts of those who fought against colonial rule in the country. Machel told the public that the new coins and banknotes celebrated the working class and peasantry, the Popular Forces for the Liberation of Mozambique (FPLM, now the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces), and the heroic people of Mozambique. When asked why a new national currency was only now being implemented after five years of independence, Machel emphasised the importance of the Bank of Mozambique and how it had to establish itself as the centre of commerce in the nation before a new currency could be introduced. Machel stated that the introduction of the metical was only one step in planning for the future of Mozambique, and encouraged the people of Mozambique to work hard, be frugal, share in austerity and guard themselves from negligence and wastefulness in order to further the Mozambican economy. Machel ended his speech with a call to action:
"Let us make the creation of the Metical a moment of popular mobilization. A moment of our full engagement in the battle for victory against underdevelopment, the elimination of hunger, nakedness, poverty, illiteracy and the triumph of socialism in our dear country. Let the creation of the Metical be a time of joy and popular celebration, expressing our patriotic feelings, for this historic achievement of our people. The struggle continues! Revolution will win! Socialism will triumph!"
The metical was divided into 100 centavos. It underwent severe inflation. After the revaluation of the Romanian leu on 1 July 2005, the metical briefly became the least valued currency unit, at a value of about 24,500 meticais per USD, until the Zimbabwean dollar took the title in late August 2005.
On 1 July 2006, Mozambique redenominated the metical at a rate of 1000:1. The new ISO 4217 code is MZN. New coins and banknotes were introduced on 1 July 2006, and the transitional period during which both old and new meticais could be used lasted until 31 December 2006. During the conversion, the new currency was locally abbreviated as MTn, but has since largely returned to MT.
Old meticais were redeemed by the Bank of Mozambique for a period of six years, until 31 December 2012.
In 1980, coins were introduced in denominations of 50 centavos, 1, 2+1⁄2, 5, 10 and 20 meticais. The 50 centavos, 2+1⁄2 and 5 meticais were minted in aluminium, with the 1 metical in brass and the 10 and 20 meticais in cupro-nickel. In 1986, aluminium 1, 10, 20 and 50 meticais were introduced. A new coinage issued in 1994 was composed of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 meticais, with the lower four denominations in brass clad steel and the higher denominations in nickel clad steel. 5000 meticais coins were introduced in 1998, followed by 10,000 meticais in 2003.
From 1 July 2006, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 centavos and 1, 2, 5, 10 meticais.
From June 2024 new coins will circulate withe new images and the removal of the 5 and 20 centavos coins
The First Metical had three issues of notes as follows: i. In 1980 (16 June 1980), notes were introduced in denominations of 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 meticais. ii The same notes and denominations were reissued in 1983 (16 June 1983) with the new state logo, 5,000 meticais notes were introduced in 1989 (3 February 1989). iii. In 1991 (16 June 1991) 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 notes were issued followed by 50,000 and 100,000 meticais in 1993 (16 June 1993), 20,000 meticais in 1999 (16 June 1999) and 200,000 and 500,000 meticais in 2003 (16 June 2003).
From 1 July 2006, new banknotes were issued in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 meticais. On 1 October 2011, Banco de Moçambique has issued a new family of banknotes that are similar to the 2006 series, but with enhanced security features. The three smaller denominations are now printed on polymer while the higher denominations remain printed on paper. The higher denominated metical banknotes are printed by De La Rue.
Mozambique will introduce a new series of metical notes and coins from June 16, 2024, which will progressively replace those that have been in circulation since 2006, the central bank governor announced on May 17th.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Mozambican metical”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.