20 Francs Pope Ioannes Paulus II

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a long history of issuing commemorative gold and silver pieces with no meaningful domestic circulation, functioning essentially as a bullion and collector vehicle for the international market. This John Paul II issue appeared two years before his death in April 2005, during a period when his declining health from Parkinson's disease was already dominating Vatican coverage worldwide.

At 1.244 grams of .9999 fine gold, the piece conforms to a fractional format produced by a handful of mints servicing small-nation licensing arrangements throughout the 1990s and 2000s.