NNP

A Portuguese copper coin issued from the middle of the eighteenth century for Angola and other African possessions. The coin has a value of fifty Keis, and the multiples from two to twelve Macutas are in silver. All of the preceding coins are frequently counterstamped. The low denominations are in copper.

The name is probably derived from the Makna or Maknana, one of the tribes behind Mozambique. See Fernandes, Memoria das moedas correntes em Portugal. 1856. (p. 266).

The Macuta was the basis of the monetary system in Sierra Leone in the latter part of the eighteenth century.

Bonneville, Traite des Monnaies, 1806, defines it as "monnaie de compte, ou plutot nne maniere de compter en usage parmiles negres de quelques endroits des cotes d'Afrique, particulierement a Loango sur la cote d' Angola." See also Chalmers, History of Currency in the British Colonies. 1893. (p. 208).