100 Francs The Whale

The Democratic Republic of Congo has become one of the more prolific issuers of novelty bullion coinage since the early 2000s, licensing its sovereign minting authority to European dealers — primarily Belgian and Swiss intermediaries — who design, produce, and distribute these pieces with little involvement from Kinshasa beyond the official imprimatur. This piece was almost certainly struck at a private European mint under such an arrangement.

KM#334 is bullion in legal-tender dress. The one-troy-ounce fine gold weight makes the collector premium, not the face value, the only relevant number.