Catalog
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| Issuer | Banque du Zaïre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1973-1978 |
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| Thickness | 2 mm |
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| Obverse description | Facing portrait bust of President Mobutu Sese Seko wearing his characteristic leopard-skin toque hat, centrally positioned in the field. The effigy is rendered in high relief with fine detail to the facial features and headgear. The legend BANQUE DU ZAÏRE arcs along the upper periphery of the coin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DU ZAÏRE (Translation: Bank of Zaire) |
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| Additional information |
The Makuta was introduced as a subunit of the Zaïre following Mobutu Sese Seko's 1967 monetary reform, part of his broader "authenticity" campaign — Authenticité — which systematically purged colonial nomenclature from Congolese public life. The country's name, currency, and eventually Mobutu's own name were all subject to Africanization under this program. By the mid-1970s, however, copper-nickel coinage was already losing ground to inflation driven by the collapse of world copper prices and the disastrous nationalization of Union Minière's former assets.