100 Francs Butterfly brown

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued novelty bullion and commemorative pieces under licensing arrangements since the late 1990s, with most production contracted to European mints targeting collector markets rather than domestic circulation. This butterfly series falls squarely in that category — coins of Congolese nominal denomination produced almost entirely for export sale, bearing no relationship to the country's actual monetary system of the period.

KM#129 is one of several nature-themed issues from this program. The DRC was in the midst of the Second Congo War in 2002, a conflict that would not formally end until later that year.