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1000 Francs Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette
| Issuer | Bank of Central African States (BEAC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2025 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a full-colour reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's celebrated 1886 oil painting 'Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette', rendered in vivid polychrome enamel applied to the square silver flan. The composition depicts a human skull in three-quarter view against a dark background, with a lit cigarette clenched between the teeth emitting a wisp of smoke. The painterly brushwork characteristic of Van Gogh's early post-academic style is faithfully reproduced in the colouring. The image is framed by a blackened ornamental border with scrollwork relief, enhancing the dramatic contrast of the artwork. |
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| Mint | Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska), Warsaw, Poland (1766-date) |
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| Additional information |
The Bank of Central African States serves six member nations — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo — yet issues collector coins that have no practical circulation in any of them. This piece belongs to a now-familiar category of BEAC bullion-adjacent releases aimed entirely at the European and Asian novelty collector market, bearing no relationship to the monetary policy or economic conditions of the issuing zone.
Van Gogh painted the source image in Antwerp in 1886, during his enrollment at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts — a period his instructors considered largely wasted.