1500 Francs CFA Paul Gauguin

The Republic of the Congo has no meaningful historical connection to Gauguin — he spent his final years in French Polynesia, dying in the Marquesas in 1903. This is a bullion-adjacent novelty issue, one of dozens produced annually by central African states licensing their minting authority to European distributors, primarily Pobjoy Mint and B.H. Mayer's, who sell directly to the collector market. The issuing state sees a licensing fee; the coin never circulates.