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5000 Francs CFA Monetary Union, Essai
| Issuer | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1982 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central field features a sculptural group of six stylized elongated animals, rendered in a modernist African artistic style with spiral decorative motifs, arranged in a dynamic interlocking composition. The names of the six member states of the monetary union — BENIN, NIGER, COTE D'IVOIRE, SENEGAL, HAUTE VOLTA, and TOGO — are inscribed around the central device in the field, each positioned to correspond to a portion of the group. The denomination '5000 FRANCS' is prominently struck in large characters at the bottom of the field, with the date '1982' below. The circular legend 'RENFORCEMENT DE LA SOLIDARITE ET DE LA COHESION DE L'UNION MONETAIRE' runs along the upper periphery, framed by the same incuse triangular border seen on the obverse. |
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| Additional information |
Essai strikes produced for the BCEAO in this period were almost never intended for circulation — they served as official presentation pieces submitted to the French Monnaie de Paris for technical approval, with surviving examples distributed among central bank officials and occasionally reaching the numismatic market through French auction houses decades later. The West African franc zone's monetary architecture was (and remains) tightly bound to France through the guaranteed convertibility agreement, meaning even design approvals carried a Paris imprimatur.
Mintage figures for BCEAO essais of this era are rarely published officially.