50 Makuta

The Banque Nationale du Congo replaced the Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi as the sole currency authority following independence, and this series reflects that transitional period when the institution was still establishing its own visual and monetary identity. Thomas De La Rue's involvement was typical of Francophone African central banks in the 1960s — the London firm held contracts across the continent simultaneously, which occasionally created scheduling delays that affected release dates within a stated year range.

The makuta subunit itself had a short official life. Congo redenominated in 1967, introducing the zaïre at 1,000 francs, with the makuta as one-hundredth of that new unit. This note thus belongs to the opening years of that system, before the inflationary pressures of the Mobutu era rendered small-denomination paper effectively worthless in daily commerce.