3000 Francs Mask of Agamemnon

The Mask of Agamemnon was excavated at Mycenae in 1876 by Heinrich Schliemann, who famously — and almost certainly incorrectly — declared he had "gazed upon the face of Agamemnon." Modern scholarship places the mask roughly three centuries earlier than any historical Agamemnon could have lived, making Schliemann's telegram to the Greek king one of archaeology's most celebrated misattributions. Cameroon has no geographic or historical connection to the Aegean Bronze Age; this is one of dozens of collectible issues the country licenses annually for the international numismatic market, using its sovereign minting authority as a revenue instrument.