Catalog
500 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Royaume du Burundi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1964-1966 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Brown print over a multicolour guilloche underprint, with the coat of arms of Burundi centrally placed as the principal vignette. Bilingual inscriptions in French and Kirundi appear across the face, including an anti-counterfeiting warning. |
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| Variants | P#13a - 05.12.1964 P#13s - 01.08.1966 confirmed only as Specimen and issued note with overprint - see BURUNDI P-18 |
| Comments |
The Banque du Royaume du Burundi was a short-lived institution by design. Burundi gained independence in 1962 as a constitutional monarchy under Mwami Mwambutsa IV, and the national bank was established to replace the currency arrangements inherited from the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi monetary union. Thomas De La Rue handled the printing throughout the series — standard practice for newly independent African states that lacked domestic printing infrastructure and needed notes quickly.
The kingdom itself collapsed in 1966 when Captain Michel Micombero deposed Mwami Ntare V and declared a republic, rendering this issuing authority extinct after barely four years of operation.