Catalog
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| Issuer | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Engraver(s) | Raymond Joly |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE CENTRALE DES ETATS DE L'AFRIQUE DE L'OUEST ESSAI |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Essai strikes of this type were produced for the 1972 BCEAO coinage reform, when the West African Economic and Monetary Union was consolidating currency production under a unified central bank framework. Pattern and essai pieces from this period were typically distributed to member-state treasuries, international banks, and coin cabinets rather than entering circulation — which explains why survivors appear almost exclusively in original packaging.
The non-magnetic copper-nickel specification distinguishes this from later alloy trials catalogued under the same KM group, accounting for the separate E6 suffix variants.