By 1987, Mobutu Sese Seko's government had been printing money to cover deficits for over a decade, and the zaïre was in freefall against hard currencies. Brass coinage of this denomination was produced largely as a formality — inflation was advancing faster than the coins could retain purchasing power, and within a few years the currency would be redenominated, then abandoned entirely when the country itself was renamed in 1997.
By 1987, Mobutu Sese Seko's government had been printing money to cover deficits for over a decade, and the zaïre was in freefall against hard currencies. Brass coinage of this denomination was produced largely as a formality — inflation was advancing faster than the coins could retain purchasing power, and within a few years the currency would be redenominated, then abandoned entirely when the country itself was renamed in 1997.