5000 Francs

The BCEAO was established in 1959 to manage the CFA franc for the newly independent West African states — a currency zone that had existed since 1945 but now required its own institutional framework separate from French colonial banking structures. This note belongs to the early transitional series, where continuity of supply depended entirely on the Banque de France's Chamalières facility, a dependency that would persist for decades.

Tézenas du Montcel served as the BCEAO's first governor. His signature on this issue dates it to the very opening years of the institution's operation.