10 000 Francs

Guinea's 1958 independence from France created an immediate problem: the new republic needed its own currency fast, and Western printing houses weren't the obvious choice for a government aligned with Sékou Touré's pan-African socialist program. Státní tiskárna cenin in Prague — the Czechoslovak state security printer — was a natural partner for newly independent nations in the Soviet orbit, and Guinea became one of its early African clients.

The 10,000 franc denomination was the highest in the inaugural series, issued just as Guinea was establishing the Guinean franc as a replacement for the CFA franc after de Gaulle cut off all French financial assistance following the 1958 referendum.