10 Francs 1930 Bentley

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued commemorative coinage under its own name since Laurent-Désiré Kabila renamed the country from Zaire in 1997, and by the early 2000s the mint trade in licensed novelty issues — cars, trains, wildlife — had become a significant revenue stream for cash-strapped African states with no domestic mint. This piece commemorates the 1930 Bentley, one of the 4½-litre supercharged cars associated with the Birkin-Barnato racing programme at Le Mans.

The coin was struck for the collector market, almost certainly by a European contract mint. It never circulated in Kinshasa.