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10 Centimes - Léopold II
| Issuer | Congo Free State (1885-1908) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906-1908 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central round perforation surrounded by four crowned royal monograms of Léopold II arranged symmetrically in the field, each rendered as an interlaced 'L' beneath a royal crown. A beaded inner border frames the central motif, while the outer legend reads around the periphery within a beaded outer border. The design is spare and heraldic in character, with no portrait effigy, reflecting the administrative rather than personal nature of the Congo Free State coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Congo Free State was not a colony in any conventional sense — it was the personal property of Léopold II of Belgium, administered under his private authority following the Berlin Conference of 1885. These coins were issued by and for that private regime, not the Belgian state. By the time this type entered circulation in 1906, international pressure over atrocities committed by Léopold's Force Publique was already forcing his hand; Belgium annexed the territory outright in 1908, ending both the Free State and this coinage simultaneously.
The truncated two-year window makes late-date examples worth distinguishing from earlier Free State issues.