500 Francs Benedict XVI

Issued the same year as Ratzinger's election to the papacy, this piece is one of dozens of near-identical papal commemoratives struck by the Monnaie de Paris on behalf of small Francophone African states whose participation in the actual design or authorization process was, at best, nominal. Togo had no particular diplomatic or religious tie to the Vatican that warranted the issue — the country simply licensed its name and legal tender status to a French minting operation targeting collector markets.