50 Francs Lion, gold essai

Niger's 1968 gold essai series was produced in the lead-up to the country's adoption of revised coinage under the West African franc system, with pattern pieces like this struck in precious metals for official approval — a process that rarely translated into circulating production. Most essais from francophone West African states of this period were produced by the Paris Mint in extremely limited numbers, typically fewer than 100 pieces, distributed almost entirely to government ministers and monetary authorities rather than entering any commercial channel.