1 Franc

The Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi was itself a short-lived institution, established in 1952 to manage currency across Belgium's central African territories and dissolved when Congolese independence arrived in 1960. These aluminium francs were struck in the final years of Belgian colonial administration, against a backdrop of accelerating nationalist pressure — the Brussels World's Fair of 1958 had included a Congo pavilion that drew sharp criticism for its patronizing display of Congolese villagers. By 1960 the franc was replaced by the Congolese franc, rendering this type obsolete within months of its last striking date.