100 Francs CFA WWI

Mali joined the CFA franc zone at independence in 1960, though it briefly withdrew to issue its own Malian franc between 1962 and 1984 before returning — a monetary detour driven by socialist economic policy under Modibo Keïta. This piece has nothing to do with that history. It belongs to a category of sub-half-gram gold issues produced almost exclusively for the collector market, struck under licensing arrangements that allow sovereign issuers to attach their names to coins designed, produced, and distributed entirely by European minting houses.

The WWI theme places it within a crowded commemorative output tied to the centenary years 2014–2018.