This coin exists because Jean-Bédel Bokassa, having ruled the Central African Republic as president-for-life since 1966, declared himself Emperor in December 1977 in a coronation ceremony that cost an estimated $30 million — roughly a third of the country's annual government revenue, largely financed by France. The imperial coinage followed in 1978. French paratroopers deposed him the following year after his personal involvement in the massacre of schoolchildren who had protested against compulsory uniforms sold by a company he owned.
This coin exists because Jean-Bédel Bokassa, having ruled the Central African Republic as president-for-life since 1966, declared himself Emperor in December 1977 in a coronation ceremony that cost an estimated $30 million — roughly a third of the country's annual government revenue, largely financed by France. The imperial coinage followed in 1978. French paratroopers deposed him the following year after his personal involvement in the massacre of schoolchildren who had protested against compulsory uniforms sold by a company he owned.