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1000 Francs CFA Amerigo Vespucci
| Issuer | Benin (1975-date) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 20 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A large, detailed depiction of a fully rigged square-sailed tall ship under full sail occupies the central field, rendered in fine relief and sailing to the right upon stylized ocean waves. The vessel displays multiple masts with billowing sails and rigging rendered in precise detail, consistent with a late 15th to early 16th century caravel or carrack type. The legend AMERIGO VESPUCCI arcs along the upper periphery, accompanied by the explorer's life dates 1451-1512 to the right. The issue year 2005 appears in the exergue below the waterline. |
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| Additional information |
Benin's CFA-denominated silver issues from the mid-2000s were produced almost exclusively for the collector export market, bearing no practical relationship to the West African CFA franc in daily circulation. The country had been issuing thematic collector pieces under foreign licensing arrangements since the 1990s, a practice common among smaller UEMOA member states looking to generate hard currency revenue without touching monetary policy.
Vespucci's name was attached to the American continents by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507 — a decision Waldseemüller himself later regretted and attempted to reverse, without success.