Under Macau Administrative Regulation No. 30/2011 (5 September 2011), Bank of China, Limited and Banco Nacional Ultramarino, S.A. were authorised to issue new MOP10 notes celebrating the Lunar New Years from 2012 (Dragon) through 2023 (Rabbit). Each issuing bank could release up to ten million notes a year. The result is the first full twelve-year zodiac banknote cycle in Macau — and one of the most complete paired-note collecting themes in Greater China.
Why collectors call them “paired notes”
Macau banknotes are issued by two commercial banks. For every zodiac year, BOC Macau and BNU each released one MOP10 design sharing the same animal theme. Collectors usually keep them as a matched pair — ideally with identical serial numbers — and build toward the full 24-note “complete set”. Unlike one-off event commemoratives, these notes are legal-tender circulating issues with festive designs.
Design language across the series
- Obverse: a Chinese paper-cut style zodiac animal (paper-cutting is on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity), often with lanterns and festive red tones.
- Reverse: each bank’s Macau headquarters, with shared Macau heritage motifs such as the A-Ma Temple (a UNESCO World Heritage site).
- Serial prefixes use traditional Chinese stem-branch year names (e.g. 壬辰 for Dragon 2012) — a distinctive feature among modern banknotes.
- Typical size about 138 × 69 mm; security features include a windowed security thread. The 2012 Dragon notes exist with both 7-digit and 8-digit serial varieties.
Year-by-year checklist (2012–2023)
- 2012 — Dragon / 龍 — stem-branch 壬辰 — BOC P115 / BNU P85
- 2013 — Snake / 蛇 — 癸巳 — BOC P116 / BNU P86
- 2014 — Horse / 馬 — 甲午 — BOC P117 / BNU P87
- 2015 — Goat / 羊 — 乙未 — BOC P118 / BNU P88
- 2016 — Monkey / 猴 — 丙申 — BOC P119 / BNU P88A
- 2017 — Rooster / 雞 — 丁酉 — BOC P120 / BNU P88B
- 2018 — Dog / 狗 — 戊戌 — BOC P121 / BNU P88C
- 2019 — Pig / 豬 — 己亥 — BOC P122 / BNU P88D
- 2020 — Rat / 鼠 — 庚子 — BOC & BNU MOP10 pair
- 2021 — Ox / 牛 — 辛丑 — BOC & BNU MOP10 pair
- 2022 — Tiger / 虎 — 壬寅 — BOC & BNU MOP10 pair
- 2023 — Rabbit / 兔 — 癸卯 — BOC & BNU MOP10 pair (final year of the cycle)
Collecting tips
- Matched serial pairs (same number on BOC and BNU) usually command a premium over random pairs.
- Early years — especially Dragon 2012 — and fancy numbers (radars, ladders, solid ends) are watched closely.
- Album / folder sets of all 24 notes are popular display formats; check condition grades if buying graded notes.
- These notes sit alongside Macau’s other commemoratives on this site — such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics MOP20 issues.
With the 2012–2023 cycle complete, the Macau zodiac pair set is a closed series: twelve animals, two banks, and a clear checklist for collectors building a Macau commemorative shelf.