BANCO NACIONOL DA GUINE-BISSAU, 5000 PESOS, 1984

OBVERSE: The West African country of Guine-Bissau received independence from European rule in the late 1970s. On September 12, 1984, their constitution was promulgated. Pictured on the obverse is a geographic map of the country along with the portrait of Amilcar Cabral (1924–1974), who is celebrated as the Father of Independence. An agricultural engineer, an intellect, a poet, a revolutionary, and a diplomat, he was among the foremost African anticolonial leaders.

REVERSE: The interior plains of Guine-Bissau are part of the southern edge of the Senegal River basin, which irrigate an extensive area of drowned rice paddies, known as bolanhas. Workers tending those vast fields are illustrated. In the lower right-hand corner is the inscription “A LEI PUNE O CONTRAFACTOR,” also inscribed on other African countries’ currency.