1000 Francos CFA Fernão do Pó

Fernão do Pó — the Portuguese name for the island now called Bioko — was named after the explorer who encountered it around 1472, though Portugal never successfully colonized it. Spain acquired the island via the 1778 Treaty of El Pardo, swapping it with Portugal for territory in South America. It later became part of Equatorial Guinea upon independence in 1968. The Bank of Central African States, headquartered in Yaoundé, issues collector coinage for its member states, and this piece falls squarely in that numismatic program rather than anything approaching circulating currency.