10 Francs Essai

Essai pieces from the Banque Centrale de la République Malgache were produced in extremely limited quantities — typically fewer than 1,700 examples — for submission to government and banking authorities rather than circulation. Madagascar had gained independence from France in 1960, and the transitional decade saw the new central bank commissioning trial strikes through the Paris Mint to establish a distinctly Malagasy coinage identity, independent of the CFA franc system the island had used under French administration.