1000 Francs

Mali's first banknote series was issued immediately following independence from France in September 1960, and the choice of printer was a deliberate political statement. Rather than contracting with the French government printer or the established colonial-era suppliers, the new Malian government turned to Státní Tiskárna Cenin in Prague — a socialist-bloc printer, signaling alignment with the Eastern bloc at a moment when Modibo Keïta's government was pursuing a non-aligned but leftward-leaning foreign policy.

The series was short-lived. Mali rejoined the West African Monetary Union in 1967, rendering these notes obsolete after less than a decade of use.