200 Francs Independence

Dahomey issued this coin to mark a decade of independence from France, achieved in August 1960 when the territory separated from French West Africa. The country's political history in this period was exceptionally turbulent — between 1960 and 1972 it experienced no fewer than six coups, earning it a reputation as the most politically unstable state in West Africa. The 1971 issue predates by just one year the final military takeover by Mathieu Kérékou, who would rename the country the People's Republic of Benin in 1975.

Produced primarily for the collector and export market rather than domestic circulation, pieces typically survive in high condition.