Catalog
500 Francs Independence
| Issuer | Dahomey (1960-1975) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1971 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | CFA Franc (1945-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A finely rendered bust of a woman of the Ouémé region of Dahomey faces right, depicted in traditional native dress and adornments, including an elaborate beaded headdress with a feather, multiple layered necklaces, and a decorated bodice with raised dot motifs and a woven belt. The portrait is rendered in high relief against a deeply mirrored proof field, with a border of raised beads encircling the design. The legend FEMME OUÉMÉ is inscribed along the lower portion of the field in capital letters. |
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| Mintage | 1971 - Hallmark `999,9` lower right of `CFA`, Proof - 1971 - Hallmark `999,9` lower right of `FRANCS`, Proof - 1971 - Hallmark `999,9` under `500`, Proof - 1971 - Hallmark `999,9` under `CFA`, Proof - 1971 - KM#3.1 Hallmark `1000` lower right of `FRANCS`, Proof - 5,550 1971 1 AR - KM#3.2 Hallmark `1000` and mint mark lower right of `FRANCS`, Proof - |
| Additional information |
Dahomey's independence coinage was never intended for circulation. These silver pieces were struck by the Monnaie de Paris explicitly for the international collector market — a revenue strategy adopted by dozens of newly independent African states in the 1960s and early 1970s, often coordinated through agreements with European mints eager for the contract work. The political entity that commissioned this coin ceased to exist in 1975 when Mathieu Kérékou's Marxist-Leninist government renamed the country Benin following his 1972 coup.
KM#3 is one of only four coin types struck for Dahomey across its entire fifteen-year existence as a named state.