20 Francs

The Banque d'Emission du Rwanda et du Burundi was always a transitional institution — established in 1960 to manage the currency of the former Belgian trust territory, it was already winding down by the time this note was issued. Both Rwanda and Burundi had been independent since 1962, yet the shared central bank and its common franc lingered for several more years while each country built the infrastructure to issue its own currency. Rwanda introduced the Rwanda franc in 1964; Burundi followed with its own franc the same year, effectively rendering this series obsolete almost immediately upon printing.

Thomas De La Rue printed the series in London, a routine assignment for them in the post-colonial African market of that decade.