1000 Francs CFA Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries

The Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a commune in the Camargue delta of southern France — its annual Romani pilgrimage draws tens of thousands each May. Its appearance on a Gabonese franc CFA issue has nothing to do with any historical or economic tie between Gabon and Provence; this is a numismatic novelty piece, one of dozens of colorized copper-core "collector" francs CFA issued by the BEAC zone countries through private minting arrangements, typically with European firms packaging foreign imagery for the souvenir market.