5000 Francs

The BCEAO's 5000 Franc denomination is the workhorse of the upper-value range across the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union, and this long-running series reflects the political churn of the 1990s more transparently than most. The left signature — the national minister — rotates frequently as governments changed across member states, while Charles Konan Banny held the governorship from 1994 through the full remainder of the series, a tenure that itself became politically charged during Côte d'Ivoire's post-2000 instability.

Alassane Ouattara's appearance on the 1992–1993 issues is worth noting: he served as BCEAO Governor before becoming Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, later President. The 1992 signature pairing with Frédéric Korsaga — Burkina Faso's finance minister at the time — pins the issuing country for that variety to Burkina Faso.