São Tomé & Príncipe 50 Dobras, 2025 (2026), 50th Independence, B317a, UNC

This 50-dobra note was issued under Decree No. 9 of 2025 and commemorates the 50th anniversary of São Tomé and Príncipe's national independence, established on 12 July 1975. It was introduced on 21 August 2026.

The Banco Central de S. Tomé e Príncipe has said the note is not intended for general monetary circulation, presenting it instead as a commemorative piece of memory, celebration and historical preservation.

TBB:  B317a
Pick:  PNL

Type:  Commemorative
Issuing Authority:  Banco Central de São Tomé & Príncipe
Signature:  10. Guadalupe/Afonso Fernandes

Series:  2025 (2026) Commemorative Issues
Year:  2025 (2026)

Substrate:  Polymer
Size:  145 x 67 mm
Color(s):  Green, Gold

Front:  A peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) fills the left of the note in profile, facing a grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) perched beside it at center left. Behind the two birds a waterfall falls through ferns and dense forest foliage, and golden fronds frame the left edge.

Across the upper center an inscription marks the 50th anniversary of national independence, dated 1975–2025 and citing decree number 09/2025. Below it are the signatures of the Minister of State for the Economy and Finance and the Governor of the central bank, set above the national coat of arms.

A portrait of Rei Amador appears at the upper right, with the numeral 50 in the corner beside him. He was the 16th-century leader of the 1595 uprising of enslaved Africans on São Tomé and is remembered as a national hero of the islands. A broad leaf and a cocoa pod appear at the right.

The bank's name, Banco Central de S. Tomé e Príncipe, runs across the lower left, and the value in words, Cinquenta Dobras, reads vertically up the left edge.

Back:  An outline map of the Americas and Africa spans the back, overlaid with a grid of meridians and parallels and a scale of longitudes along the top edge. The equator crosses it as a horizontal line, with the word EQUADOR set in large open capitals over central Africa.

At the center a shaded aerial view of São Tomé and Príncipe shows both islands in relief, each named, with the equator meeting the archipelago at Ilhéu das Rolas (Rolas Islet).

To the right stands the Marco do Equador, the stone pillar topped by a sphere that marks the crossing, set in a grove of palms above a coastal bay. An inscription beside it credits the confirmation of the equator line to the geodetic and astronomical work of the Portuguese navigator and geographer Gago Coutinho, carried out between 1915 and 1919. Golden fronds fill the upper right corner.

The value in words, Cinquenta Dobras, and the numeral 50 appear at the upper left, with a cocoa pod below them. The bank's name, Banco Central de S. Tomé e Príncipe, and a second 50 sit at the lower right.