1000 Francs CFA NANO Mercury Meteorite NWA 7325/8409

NWA 7325 was recovered in 2012 from the Sahara and generated immediate controversy — its unusually low iron-to-magnesium ratio and oxygen isotope signature led a team including Anthony Irving to propose a Mercurian origin, which would make it the first recognized sample of material from the innermost planet. The claim remains contested; some researchers favor a distinct achondrite parent body that has not yet been identified.

NWA 8409 is a paired stone from the same fall. The embedded meteorite fragment gives this coin its only real claim on a collector's attention.