Angolan kwanza (AOA) was established in 1977 after Angola’s independence was won from Portugal. The Angolan kwanza was divided into 100 Iwei and replaced the Portuguese escudo following the conflict. Angolan currency was denominated a total of four times as the first kwanza, novo kwanza, kwanza reajustado and finally the second kwanza. The second kwanza brought back the usage of coins since they were not minted previously due to inflation. The current 2012 Angolan banknote set features first president António Agostinho Neto and second president José Eduardo dos Santos on the front of each banknote.
The back of each note depicts a different aspect of Angola that is reflected in the design. The 50 kwanzas note is yellow/green and features Cuemba waterfalls. The 100 Angolan kwanza note features Binga waterfalls and is of a light brown color. The 200 Kwanzas banknote features Tchimbue waterfalls and is of a light gray color. The 500 kwanza note features Andulo waterfalls and is of an orange color. The 1000 kwanza note features Kalandula waterfalls and is of a pink color. The 2000 kwanzas banknote features Dande and is of a green color. Lastly, the 5000 kwanza note depicts Kapanda dam and is of a light orange color.
