100 Francs

Mali's 1960 independence from French West Africa required an immediate break from the CFA franc system, and the new republic moved quickly — this note was among the first issued under the Banque de la République du Mali before the country briefly rejoined the West African monetary union years later. The choice of printer is striking: Státní Tiskárna Cenin in Prague was a Czechoslovak state security printer, and its selection by a newly independent Francophone African state signals the non-aligned political maneuvering common among post-colonial governments seeking to distance themselves from French institutional dependencies.

Mali eventually abandoned its own currency in 1967, making this entire series short-lived.