50 Makuta

Zaïre's monetary system was inaugurated in 1967 when Mobutu replaced the Congolese franc, and this 50 Makuta — one hundredth of a zaïre — belongs to the first standardized series issued under that framework. Giesecke & Devrient produced the notes in Munich across a five-year run, during which the guilloche security panel on the reverse quietly shifted from a single red to a combined red-and-purple configuration beginning with the June 1976 signature date. That change is the key diagnostic for collectors distinguishing the earlier from the later issues within P#16.