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500 Francs CFA Monetary Union, Essai
| Issuer | Central Bank of West African States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
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| Currency | CFA franc (1958-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field displays the denomination 500 FRANCS and the date 1972 in bold relief. Surrounding the central inscription are seven heraldic shield-shaped cartouches arranged radially, each bearing a distinctive national emblem or symbol corresponding to one of the seven member states of the West African Monetary Union. The names of the member states — HAUTE-VOLTA, MAURITANIE, NIGER, SENEGAL, TOGO, COTE D'IVOIRE, and DAHOMEY — are inscribed in the outer field adjacent to their respective shields, with the repeated legend UNION MONETAIRE around each cartouche. The entire design is enclosed within the same decorative geometric triangular border as the obverse. |
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| Additional information |
The West African Monetary Union's early essai program in the 1970s produced pattern strikes specifically for archive and approval purposes, distributed to monetary authorities and select institutions rather than released into circulation. The BCEAO had only been issuing its own coinage since 1961 following the dissolution of French West Africa, and these trial pieces document the young institution's efforts to standardize a coinage identity across eight francophone member states with sharply different economic realities.
KM#E7 is among the scarcer essai strikes of the series. Surviving population is small.