Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Francs Butterfly Fish
| Issuer | Banque Centrale du Congo |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A colorized depiction of a butterfly fish (Chaetodontidae) in naturalistic yellow and red horizontal striping, with black markings near the head and dorsal fin, occupying the central field against a dark background within an irregularly shaped inset. The legend WILDLIFE PROTECTION 2005 arcs along the upper periphery in raised lettering, with the coin's milled rim framing the entire design. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 2005 - Proof - 5,000 |
| Additional information |
The Democratic Republic of Congo issued a long run of novelty coinage in the early 2000s primarily for the collector market, with virtually no intention of these pieces entering domestic circulation. The country was still emerging from the Second Congo War — formally ended in 2003 — and its monetary infrastructure was nowhere near equipped to distribute commemorative copper-nickel pieces to a population largely transacting in worn banknotes and foreign currency.
KM#179 is one of several fish-themed issues from this period, a series that sold through international distributors with Congo's name lending exotic appeal to what were essentially bullion-adjacent novelties.