1000 Francs CFA Michelangelo

The Republic of the Congo — not to be confused with the neighboring Democratic Republic — has issued a substantial number of numismatic silver pieces through the early 2000s under licensing arrangements with the Coin Invest Trust of Liechtenstein, which effectively designed and marketed these issues to European collectors rather than to any domestic Congolese audience. Michelangelo died in 1564, and the 2005 date on this piece marks no particular anniversary of note.