10 Francs Papilio machaon

The Democratic Republic of Congo has issued novelty legal tender in acrylic and polymer formats since the early 2000s, largely targeting the thematic collector market rather than domestic circulation — no one was spending these at a Kinshasa market stall. KM#163 is part of a butterfly series that coincided with a period of profound institutional instability at the Banque Centrale, which was simultaneously trying to stabilize the Congolese franc after years of catastrophic hyperinflation. The collector export market offered hard currency revenue with zero monetary risk.

The swallowtail species depicted, Papilio machaon, is native to Europe and Asia — not Congo.