On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, São Tomé and Príncipe issued a 50-dobra commemorative banknote to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of the country. This special issue honors the historic proclamation of independence on July 12, 1975 and celebrates the journey of the nation over the past five decades. The public ceremony brought together the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Américo Ramos, and other high-ranking state authorities, including the Attorney General of the Republic, Carlos Stok, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Judge Euridice Dias, and former governors of the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, the host of the ceremony. The issuance was framed within the official program of celebrations marking 50 years of independence and the institutional journey of the monetary authority, created 34 years ago as the entity responsible for issuing national currency.
The obverse of the banknote prominently features two emblematic birds of the islands, the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) at left and the African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) at right, perched in front of the Cascata Mioba (waterfall) located in Praia Pesqueira, south São Tomé. The tropical landscape of water, ferns and forest foliage highlights the extraordinary natural wealth of the archipelago. A portrait of national hero, Rei Amador, is at top right, the country's coat of arms at lower center and a coffee leaf at right further adorn the front of the note. The transparent window at lower right contains an iridescent cocoa pod. The iridescent cocoa pod was integrated into the substrate at the time of its production. The cocoa imagery pays tribute to the country’s long-standing agricultural tradition and its historical role in the national economy. The denomination at upper right is rendered using gold-to-green-changing Optically Variable Ink (OVI). The coffee leaf is comprised solely of the repeating microtext BANCOCENTRALDESÃOTOMÉEPRÍNCIPECINQUENTADOBRAS in light and dark shades.
The reverse of the banknote emphasizes São Tomé and Príncipe's unique location on the equator, featuring an outline map of the Americas and Africa with the equator prominently labeled as EQUADOR. An aerial view of the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe is superimposed over the world map, showing the equator at Ilhéu das Rolas (Rolas Islet). The Marco do Equador monument at Ilhéu das Rolas is illustrated at lower center right along with a reference to the geodetic and astronomical work of Gago Coutinho between 1916 and 1918, above an outline of the globe. Coutinho confirmed that the equator passes directly through Ilhéu das Rolas. An island scene showing the ocean and palm trees adorns the lower middle and right of the banknote in the background.
Designed in green and gold tones symbolizing fertility, sunlight and prosperity, the banknote combines tradition with modern commemorative aesthetics. It measures 145 x 67 mm.
This commemorative banknote project was conducted and printed by Authentix at their Royal Joh. Enschedé (RJE) facility in Haarlem, The Netherlands. This is an exciting development indeed that signals the renowned Dutch security printer's return to the high-security banknote printing business. RJE began in 1703 as a small book printing and stationery shop in Haarlem, Netherlands, founded by Izaak Enschedé. The company transitioned into high-security printing, producing official banknotes for the Netherland's Central Bank starting in 1814, alongside global banknotes and postage stamps.
The new commemorative was printed on the PolySecure® polymer substrate from Q&T Hi-Tech Polymer, located near Hanoi, Vietnam. PolySecure® is built on a proprietary polymer core with controlled opacification, surface treatment, and transparent-window zones. The architecture is designed to support overt optical features, covert machine-readable elements, and existing banknote production workflows. This commemorative banknote is just the fifth circulating banknote worldwide printed on PolySecure®. The other four are the four low denomination Vietnamese polymer banknotes dated (20)24 and (20)25.
The note was printed using a nine-color offset process with multiple iris transitions, combined with two-color intaglio for the tactile relief associated with banknote printing. Optically Variable Ink, applied by screen printing, shifts color as the note is tilted. The ferns on the obverse at left luminesce under UV light.
The note also introduces a fully digital numbering process for the first time at RJE. Rather than using fixed printing plates, each number is applied digitally, which allows for unique note identification and additional anti-counterfeiting measures.
This commemorative banknote is currently not intended for general circulation, but it may be released into circulation in small quantities at a future date. Its issuance seeks to associate the country's monetary identity with the preservation of national memory, using numismatics as an instrument for valuing events and institutions that have marked the recent history of São Tomé and Príncipe. It was issued per Decree No. 09/2025 and was signed by Gareth Haddad do Espírito Santo Guadalupe, the Minister of State for Economy and Finance and Agostinho Quaresma dos Santos Afonso Fernandes, the Governor of the Central Bank.
The commemorative banknote was printed with prefixes A (followed by a five-digit serial number) and STP (followed by a four-digit serial number):
- Prefix A with serial numbers A 00001-55000 and A 56101-57000 and A 58101-59000, 56,800 pieces.
- Prefix STP with serial numbers STP 0001-0100, 100 pieces. Only available in a VIP folder.
- Prefix STP with serial numbers STP 0101-1000, 900 pieces. Only available in a collectors folder.
- Prefix A with serial number A 00000, numbered 001-100, with ESPÉCIME (SPECIMEN) overprint on front and back, 100 pieces.
Note: The Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe permitted pre-sales of the banknote to begin at the HICC show in Hong Kong on Friday, August 21, 2026; however, the official release date was Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
Donald Ludwig, August 30, 2026
