Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
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!
1000 Francs CFA Blue Whale
| Issuer | République du Bénin |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | The obverse displays the national coat of arms of Benin at center, featuring a quartered shield supported by two leopards rampant. The shield's quarters depict traditional turreted buildings, a decorative cross, a palm tree, and a sailing vessel respectively, surmounted by a buffalo head above the shield. A ribbon below the supporters bears the national motto in the legend FRATERNITE JUSTICE TRAVAIL. The circular legend REPUBLIQUE DU BENIN arcs across the upper field, while the denomination 1000 FRANCS CFA appears prominently in the lower field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a finely detailed naturalistic scene depicting blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in their marine habitat against a deeply mirrored proof field. A large adult whale occupies the center of the composition, rendered with fine engraved detail showing its characteristic ventral grooves, swimming diagonally across the field. A smaller whale, likely a calf, is depicted below and to the right, while the fluked tail of a third individual emerges above the waterline in the upper right. The textured ocean surface and a rocky coastline or iceberg mass are visible in the upper left. The legend BALEINE BLEUE arcs along the upper border, the date 2004 appears in the right field, and the conservation legend LE MONDE ANIMAL EN PERIL curves along the lower left to bottom border. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Bénin has no coastline on the Atlantic deep enough to encounter blue whales, and no particular political or ecological relationship with the species. This is a frankly commercial issue — one of dozens of wildlife-themed silver pieces produced for the collector market by African franc-zone states in the early 2000s, where the issuing country functions largely as a licensing vehicle for European coin distributors, principally operating through the Monnaie de Paris and private intermediaries.
KM#66 saw minimal circulation and was never intended for it.