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1000 Francs CFA Johannes Gutenberg
| Issuer | Benin (1975-date) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | The national coat of arms of Benin occupies the central field, featuring a quartered shield supported by two leopards rampant, with a scroll below bearing the national motto. The upper legend REPUBLIQUE DU BENIN arcs around the periphery, while the motto FRATERNITE JUSTICE TRAVAIL appears on the ribbon beneath the shield. The denomination 1000 FRANCS CFA is inscribed in the lower field below the supporters. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Benin's commemorative program of the late 1990s was largely orchestrated through external minting arrangements — this piece almost certainly struck in Europe rather than on the continent it nominally represents. Gutenberg's connection to Benin is purely thematic, part of a wave of African commemorative issues marketed primarily to European collectors rather than circulated domestically.
Gutenberg's development of movable type printing in Mainz around 1450 is well-documented; his financing arrangements with Johann Fust are less celebrated but equally consequential — Fust eventually sued him and seized the press.