Catalog
2 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Congo Belge |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Hexagonal (6-sided) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse depicts a robust African elephant in left-facing profile, rendered in high relief with naturalistic detail including prominent tusks, large ears, and wrinkled hide. The animal is shown walking through sparse savanna grass, which is suggested by fine incuse lines beneath its feet. A small engraver's or mintmaster's mark appears to the lower right of the elephant within the field. The date '1943' is inscribed in the lower exergue in large serif numerals. The design is framed by a beaded border following the hexagonal shape of the coin. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 1943 - - 25,000,000 |
| Additional information |
Struck in the Belgian Congo rather than occupied Belgium, this issue dates to the period when the colonial administration — operating from Léopoldville under Free Belgian authority — needed to maintain a functioning currency entirely independent of the Nazi-controlled metropole. Brass was a deliberate wartime substitution; the Congo's own mineral wealth, including copper from Katanga, made local production feasible when transatlantic supply chains were anything but reliable.
The mint of origin for this series was Pretoria, South Africa — a detail that underscores just how thoroughly the war had reorganized where and how colonial currencies were actually made.