100 Francs Al Capone

The "Al Capone" name on an official BEAC issue is less absurd than it sounds — several Central African member states have issued legal-tender collector coins featuring foreign historical figures under licensing arrangements with European minting houses, primarily the Monnaie de Paris and private Swiss firms, as a straightforward revenue mechanism. These micro-gold pieces targeting the bullion gift market have proliferated across francophone Africa since the 2010s, bearing denominations that bear no relationship to domestic purchasing power.

Capone died in 1947, his fortune largely dissipated by tax evasion convictions that preceded his 1931 imprisonment — the IRS angle, not bootlegging, is what finished him.