5000 Francs

The Banque de France printed this note for BEAC — the multinational central bank serving six franc-zone states in Central Africa — but the Congo Populaire series carried distinct national overprints distinguishing it from identical designs circulating in Cameroon, Gabon, and the CAR. The signing authority combination of Oye Mba and Tchepannou places early impressions in the mid-1980s, while the Mamalepot/Mebara pairing reflects BEAC's later gubernatorial rotation, meaning the same Pick number covers a meaningful span of political change in Brazzaville, including the slow unraveling of Marxist single-party rule under Sassou Nguesso.

Cotton substrate sourced through Banque de France supply chains held up reasonably well in Central Africa's humidity, though high-denomination notes in this series frequently show edge fraying from repeated folding in transit.