Catalog
1000 Francs Okapia Johnstoni
| Issuer | Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale |
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| Year | 1999 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of an African woman in three-quarter left-facing profile, her hair styled in elaborate cornrow braids gathered at the nape, her right hand raised to her chin in a contemplative pose. The national legend REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD arcs along the upper periphery, while the motto UNITE · TRAVAIL · PROGRES curves within the inner border above the bust. The denomination 1000 FRANCS is inscribed along the lower exergue in bold letters. The relief is rendered in a fine medallic style against a polished proof field. |
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| Reverse description | Two okapis (Okapia johnstoni) depicted in a naturalistic savanna landscape, the larger adult animal standing in left profile at center-left and a juvenile facing right at center-right, both showing the characteristic striped legs of the species. The mid-ground features a stylized acacia tree flanked by tropical foliage and grasses, rendered in fine engraved detail. The binomial scientific legend OKAPIA JOHNSTONI curves along the upper border, and the date 1999 is inscribed in the lower exergue. The design is executed in high relief against a mirror-polished proof field. |
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| Additional information |
The okapi remained unknown to Western science until 1901, when British explorer P.L. Sclater formally described the species from skins obtained in the Congo — an animal so improbable that early reports were dismissed as native legend. The Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale issued this piece under the authority of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, a body governing six member states whose collective wildlife coinage program of the late 1990s leaned heavily on charismatic megafauna with strong European collector appeal.