1000 Francs CFA Hippocampus reidi

Hippocampus reidi, the longsnout seahorse, is native to the western Atlantic — not the waters of Gabon or anywhere near the Gulf of Guinea. Its appearance on a Gabonese issue is purely commercial, part of the broader wildlife bullion and collector series that francophone African states have issued through European minting intermediaries since the 2010s. Gabon's CFA franc coinage of this type is produced under licensing arrangements, with the issuing authority largely nominal.