25 Francs Essai

Essai pieces for French West Africa were produced by the Paris Mint as presentation strikes submitted for official approval before production authorization. This particular type was never adopted for circulation — the federation itself dissolved in 1959 as individual territories moved toward independence, rendering several late-series essais obsolete before they could enter use.

KM#E5 survives almost exclusively in collector hands, its mintage almost certainly numbering in the dozens rather than thousands.