10 Zaïres

By 1988, Zaïre's monetary system was in accelerating collapse. Mobutu Sese Seko's kleptocratic administration had hollowed out the central bank's reserves, and inflation was running well into triple digits annually — a trajectory that would render denominations like this essentially worthless within a few years. The country redenominated in 1993, replacing the zaïre at a rate of three million old zaïres to one nouveau zaïre, which itself collapsed almost immediately.

Brass coinage of this period saw minimal circulation; most transactions of any real value had long since shifted to foreign currency or barter.