Catalog
1 Zaïre Essai
| Issuer | Banque Nationale du Congo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1970 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Zaire (1 ZRZ) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field features a high-relief draped bust of President Joseph-Désiré Mobutu facing slightly right, wearing spectacles and a military uniform with elaborately decorated epaulettes. The circular legend 'PRÉSIDENT JOSEPH-DÉSIRÉ MOBUTU' runs along the upper periphery from left to right. The date '1970' is inscribed in the lower field beneath the portrait. The coin is bordered by a continuous beaded rim, consistent in style with the obverse. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The zaïre as a currency unit was introduced in 1967 as part of Mobutu Sese Seko's sweeping authenticité campaign — a forced cultural nationalism that renamed the country, the river, and the money itself, erasing colonial-era designations in a single administrative stroke. The new currency replaced the franc congolais at a rate of 1 zaïre to 1,000 francs.
Essai pieces like this were struck for submission and approval purposes, not circulation. The Banque Nationale du Congo — itself later renamed as Mobutu's renaming compulsion extended to institutions — commissioned these trial strikes through European minting contractors, a detail KM records but does not elaborate on.