The "Zebra" franc series from the Democratic Republic of Congo belongs to a wave of low-mintage wildlife issues produced almost entirely for the collector export market — not for domestic circulation. The DRC's actual monetary economy in 2009 ran overwhelmingly on Congolese francs and informal dollar substitutes, making a silver-plated copper 10-franc piece functionally ornamental from the moment of striking.
KM# 105 is catalogued among several contemporaneous Congolese animal issues sharing the same planchet specification, all contracted through third-party minting arrangements rather than struck at any Congolese facility.
The "Zebra" franc series from the Democratic Republic of Congo belongs to a wave of low-mintage wildlife issues produced almost entirely for the collector export market — not for domestic circulation. The DRC's actual monetary economy in 2009 ran overwhelmingly on Congolese francs and informal dollar substitutes, making a silver-plated copper 10-franc piece functionally ornamental from the moment of striking.
KM# 105 is catalogued among several contemporaneous Congolese animal issues sharing the same planchet specification, all contracted through third-party minting arrangements rather than struck at any Congolese facility.