1000 Francs

The BCEAO was established in 1959 to replace the Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo as the franc zone's West African monetary authority — this series was among the first issued under that new institutional identity, yet the continuity with French colonial-era printing arrangements was absolute. The Banque de France's own presses produced the notes throughout the run, and Robert Julienne's signature persisted across every dated and undated variant, anchoring the series across more than a decade of changing political leadership in member states.

The sheer number of signature combinations on a single design — at least thirteen recorded pairings — reflects the BCEAO's rotating governance structure, under which each member country held the presidency in turn. Henri Konan Bédié signed as Côte d'Ivoire's representative before becoming that country's president in 1993.