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1 Franc
| Issuer | Banque Centrale du Congo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette to the left depicts the GECAMINES copper smelting complex with industrial structures, smoke stacks, and ore processing facilities rendered in intaglio. The bank monogram in guilloche underprint occupies the centre-right, flanked by denomination numerals at left and right. Inscriptions read BANQUE CENTRALE DU CONGO across the top, with the signature of Governor Masangu Mulongo and the date 01.11.1997 at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette presents three seated figures — understood to represent Patrice Lumumba with companions following his capture — rendered in fine intaglio line work against a multicolour guilloche underprint of geometric and chevron patterns in blue, gold, and orange. The bank title BANQUE CENTRALE DU CONGO runs across the top, with the denomination 1F at upper left and right corners. The Swahili word MOJA (one) appears at lower right, and an anti-counterfeiting warning in French is printed at lower left. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Centrale du Congo didn't exist under that name in 1997 — the institution was still operating as the Banque du Zaïre until Mobutu's fall in May of that year, after which Laurent-Désiré Kabila renamed both the country and its central bank almost immediately. This note sits right at that transition: the new name, the new country, the old infrastructure. Masangu Mulongo was appointed governor under Kabila and would remain in the role for over a decade.
The 1 Franc denomination itself was a restatement of intent — the Congo franc replaced the Zaïre at a rate of 100,000 to 1.