Catalog
500 Francs CFA
| Issuer | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012-2025 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | Brown, orange and multicolour underprint on cream stock. Central vignette of a stylised West African tribal mask in intaglio, flanked by a geometric guilloche pattern to the left and a silver holographic element to the right. Denomination '500' appears in large numerals upper left and lower centre; legend 'CINQ CENTS FRANCS CFA' at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | a bust portrait visible in clear area at left; embedded security thread; silver holographic patch at right of obverse. |
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| Comments |
The BCEAO's 500 franc note is the workhorse denomination of the West African CFA franc zone, circulating across eight countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo — under a single issuing authority headquartered in Dakar. The CFA franc itself has been pegged to the French franc, and subsequently the euro, since 1948, a monetary arrangement that has outlasted every postcolonial government in the zone.
Pick 319C spans four different signature combinations across its date range, with Tiémoko Meyliet Koné's name appearing on every variety as BCEAO Governor — a consistency that actually helps narrow attribution when the date is unclear or worn.