Obverse of 1975 Mozambique One Centimo

Mozambique One Centimo
Portugal agreed in September 1974, to grant Mozambique (Moçambique) its independence as from June 25th 1975. A new series of decimal coins dated 1975 were produced for the newly independent nation the People's Republic of Mozambique, but it appears that the new coin designs were never placed in circulation, and that the entire issue was melted down. Fortunately a few coins escaped the melting pot, as our example shows. A "reform coinage" was introduced in 1990 which did enter circulation to replace the old Portuguese escudo currency. The 1 centimo coin we show is catalogued at £300 in uncirculated condition, which seems a lot for a tiny sub-16mm coin, but cheap compared with any American coin with only perhaps a few hundred surviving examples. None of the 1975 series are catalogued in circulated grades which adds convincing evidence for the fact that these coins were never officially released.
We believe the flower shown may be a eucalyptus or possibly a knapweed.

Reverse of 1975 Mozambique One Centimo