500 Francs The Birth of Venus

Cameroon's use of the Pacific Franc (XAF/FCFA) zone for collector issues has made it a prolific source of modern commemorative silver, most produced under contract by European mints with no connection to Cameroon itself. This piece is almost certainly struck by the Monnaie de Paris or a private European house — the BCEAO framework authorizes member states to issue commemoratives, and Cameroon has used that latitude aggressively since the mid-2000s primarily as a revenue vehicle for the international numismatic market.

Bouguereau's 1879 painting, the source here, now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay following its acquisition by the French state.