Collectors call the 2012 series the «waterfalls» series, and it is no metaphor: Law No. 20/12 of 30 July 2012, which authorised the issue, explicitly required the backs to be devoted to Angola’s hydrography, its waterfalls and rivers.

The front bears two slightly overlapping portraits: Angola’s first president Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos, who led the country from 1979 to 2017. The back of the 5 is given to the Ruacana Falls in Cunene province.

The law described the security just as closely: a watermark of «The Thinker», a sculpture that became one of the symbols of national culture, a security thread with the letters BNA, and elements visible only under ultraviolet light. In all, the law provided for ten denominations, from 5 to 10,000 kwanzas. The note is signed by the Governor of the National Bank, José de Lima Massano. From 1 January 2022 the notes of this series from 200 to 5,000 kwanzas were no longer accepted as payment, but the 5 kwanzas note was not on that list.

The lowest denomination of the «waterfalls» series opens its hydrographic map from the country’s south, in Cunene province, and fills the dos Santos era slot in an Angola collection. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

A banknote from the VPcoins catalogue is a gift that is interesting to examine and has a story worth telling.