500 Francs Year of the Snake, wealth, 3D

Rwanda's National Bank has issued a substantial series of Chinese lunar coins since the early 2000s, positioning itself as an issuer of collector bullion for markets with no organic connection to the Chinese calendar — a common arrangement where a small nation licenses its sovereign minting authority to a distributor, typically European, who manages design, production, and sales entirely outside the issuing country. The actual striking of this piece was almost certainly contracted to a private mint, most likely in Germany or Austria.

The three-dimensional effect was achieved through a domed or shaped planchet technique that became fashionable among commemorative issues around 2012–2013.