Catalog
1 Zaïre
| Issuer | Banque du Zaïre |
|---|---|
| Year | 1987 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Facing slightly left, the draped bust of President Mobutu Sese Seko occupies the central field, depicted wearing his characteristic leopard-skin toque and spectacles. The legend 'UN ZAIRE' arcs along the upper periphery in serif capital letters, while the date '1987' appears in the lower exergual area. The portrait is rendered in moderate relief with fine detail on the headdress and facial features. |
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| Mintage | 1987 |
| Additional information |
By 1987, Mobutu Sese Seko's renaming campaign — which had rebranded the Congo as Zaïre in 1971 — was showing its age alongside the country's collapsing economy. Inflation was accelerating sharply through the late 1980s, and the zaïre currency would effectively become worthless within a few years, requiring a new unit, the nouveau zaïre, introduced in 1993 at a rate of 3,000,000 old zaïres to one new.
Brass coinage of this denomination circulated only briefly before being rendered trivial by inflation.