Catalog
10 Francs Essai
| Issuer | French West Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1956 |
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| Currency | CFA franc (1944-1958) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A forward-facing leptoceros gazelle head is depicted centrally in high relief, its long curved horns rising to divide the denomination 10 Fs in the upper field, with the word ESSAI inscribed between the horns. Flanking the gazelle are sprays of agricultural produce including millet, maize, and other crops, symbolising the fertility of French West Africa. The encircling legend AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE FRANÇAISE runs along the lower periphery, completing the design. |
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| Edge | Plain. |
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| Additional information |
Essai pieces from the French West African federation were struck at Paris as presentation and approval specimens, produced in tiny quantities — typically fewer than 1,700 examples — for submission to monetary authorities rather than circulation. By 1956, the federation itself had fewer than three years left; Guinea's 1958 referendum vote against the French Community effectively collapsed the political union, and no further coinage development followed.