1000 Francos CFA Diplodocus

Equatorial Guinea's dinosaur coin series of the early 1990s was issued under a broader wave of African novelty coinage that had little to do with monetary policy and everything to do with the collector market. The country, one of the smallest in Africa, used foreign licensing arrangements to produce themed issues that would never meaningfully circulate. Diplodocus — a genus identified from North American fossil beds, entirely unconnected to Equatorial Guinean geology or history — was selected purely for commercial appeal.

KM#81 was struck by a European contract mint, not by any issuing authority within Equatorial Guinea itself.