Catalog
500 Nouveaux Zaïres Leopard
| Issuer | Zaire (1971-1997) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1996 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Central motif depicting a raised relief map of the African continent occupying the majority of the field, with national borders and geographical features finely engraved. The national coat of arms of Zaire, featuring a leopard head flanked by crossed spears and an olive branch with the motto JUSTICE PAIX TRAVAIL on a ribbon, appears to the lower left of the map. The curved legend REPUBLIQUE DU ZAIRE runs along the upper rim in Latin characters, while the date 1996 is inscribed in the lower field. The engraver's name PAGLIAN appears in small letters at the bottom exergue. |
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| Reverse lettering | WILDLIFE OF AFRICA 500 NOUVEAUX ZAÏRES |
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| Additional information |
By 1996, Mobutu Sese Seko's government was functionally bankrupt, and the Zaïre's purchasing power had collapsed so completely that the currency was being redenominated for the second time in under a decade — the "nouveau zaïre" itself introduced in 1993 had already lost most of its value. Issues like this one were not produced for circulation but for foreign hard-currency sales, a common survival mechanism for mint operations in states whose economies had effectively ceased to function. Mobutu's government would fall to Laurent-Désiré Kabila's forces within months of this coin's issue date.