5.000 Francs

Guinea's 1960 independence from France made an immediate rupture with the CFA franc zone a political necessity — Sékou Touré had rejected de Gaulle's constitutional referendum in 1958, and France responded by withdrawing all technical and financial support almost overnight. The new Guinean franc, of which this is among the highest denominations, was introduced with considerable urgency under those circumstances.

Thomas De La Rue printed the series in London, which was a deliberate break from the Banque de France printing relationships that had served French West Africa. Pick 15A is notably scarce in circulated grades, likely reflecting the economic instability that followed Guinea's rapid isolation from French monetary infrastructure.