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| Issuer | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012-2026 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Francs CFA |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 500 BANQUE CENTRALE DES ÉTATS DE L`AFRIQUE DE L`OUEST 500 500 CINQ CENTS FRANCS CFA (Translation: Central Bank of the West African States Five Hundred Francs CFA.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Sawfish watermark; embedded security thread |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The BCEAO's 500 Francs denomination has long been the workhorse of daily commerce across the eight-member UEMOA zone — Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo — a currency union that has maintained the CFA Franc's fixed peg to the Euro (and before 1999, the French Franc) under a guarantee arrangement with the French Treasury. That institutional dependency has kept Banque de France printing contracts running for decades despite persistent political debate within member states about monetary autonomy.
The "T" suffix in the Pick reference designates this as a specimen or trial piece rather than a circulating issue — worth noting when assessing why the serial numbering may differ from production examples.