10 Francs Lion, small type, silver plated pattern

Niger gained independence from France in 1960 but took nearly a decade to develop its own coinage infrastructure. This 1968 pattern represents part of that exploratory process — the "small type" designation distinguishes it from a larger diameter proposal tested in the same period. Pattern strikes for Francophone African nations of this era were typically produced at the Paris Mint under contract, with multiple compositional variants tested before any design reached circulation approval. This particular proposal was rejected; Niger's circulating coinage ultimately retained the CFA franc through the BCEAO rather than issuing a sovereign series.