10 Francs Auburn Speedster 8-120

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of the most prolific issuers of novelty collector coinage since the late 1990s, contracting with European minting houses to produce themed series with no practical circulation purpose. This piece belongs to a wave of automobile-themed issues that flooded the collector market in the early 2000s, primarily sold through dealers and teleshop channels in Western Europe and Japan.

The Auburn Speedster referenced here is the 1935–1937 851/852 model, built in Auburn, Indiana — a marque that went bankrupt in 1937, leaving unsold inventory that dealers retitled and sold as 1937 models into 1938.