Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1958-1959 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is executed in blue, with a central intaglio vignette of a Congolese village scene — thatched-roof huts set among palm trees rendered in fine line work. The denomination "DUIZEND FRANK" and the clause "BETAALBAAR OP ZICHT" are inscribed centrally, above two manuscript signatures under the titles "DE GOUVERNEUR" and "EEN DIRECTEUR", with ornate guilloche cornerpieces framing the composition. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi was a short-lived institution — established in 1952 to replace the earlier Comité Monétaire, it was itself dissolved in 1960 when Belgian Congo independence shattered the unified currency zone into separate national systems for Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. Notes from the 1958–59 print run were still in active circulation at that moment of institutional collapse, giving them an awkward transitional life under successor authorities.
Bradbury Wilkinson's contract for this high-denomination series reflects the colonial administration's preference for London-area security printers over Belgian alternatives — a pattern consistent across several late-colonial African issues of the period.