1000 Francs CFA Damaliscus Pygargus

The blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) never lived anywhere near Ivory Coast. This coin is one of dozens issued under the BCEAO framework by West African states licensing their nominal authority to European minting operations — primarily Pomarius and the Swiss PAMP network — to produce wildlife-themed collector pieces aimed squarely at the European and Asian numismatic market. Ivory Coast had no editorial input into the subject matter.

By 2007, this business model was generating hundreds of distinct issues annually across ECOWAS member states.