500 Francs

The BCEAO was established in 1959 as the successor to the Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française, and this 500 Francs series bridged that transition — carrying forward a CFA franc infrastructure built under French oversight while nominally serving eight newly independent states. The volume of signatories across this series is striking: the rotating right-hand signature reflects each member state's rotating representation on the board, not separate national issues.

Robert Julienne held the Directorship with unusual continuity, his signature appearing across virtually the entire run while national representatives cycled through. Henri Konan Bédié, who signed later in the series, went on to become President of Côte d'Ivoire — making his appearance here an early bureaucratic footnote to a turbulent political career.