Catalog
5000 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Nationale du Rwanda |
|---|---|
| Year | 1994 |
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| Currency | Franc (1964-date) |
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| Obverse description | A detailed intaglio vignette of Lake Kivu with a mountainous landscape occupies the right portion of the note, rendered in blue-violet tones with fine guilloche underprint. The denomination 5000 appears in large numerals at lower left and upper right, with the issuing authority BANQUE NATIONALE DU RWANDA across the top. Date 1.12.1994 and the legend PAYABLES A VUE appear below the vignette, with the written denomination CINQ MILLE FRANCS in bold at lower centre. |
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| Variants | P#25a - issued note. 01.12.1994 |
| Comments |
The 1994 date places this note at the epicenter of one of the most catastrophic events of the twentieth century. The Rwandan genocide began in April of that year; the government, infrastructure, and banking system collapsed in a matter of weeks. Notes issued by the Banque Nationale du Rwanda in 1994 were caught mid-circulation as the country fractured along lines that made ordinary commerce meaningless. Whether this specific print run preceded or overlapped with the violence is difficult to establish with precision, but surviving examples often show signs of hasty handling or prolonged concealment.
Giesecke & Devrient had been supplying African central banks for decades by this point, and the Leipzig facility was their primary production base following German reunification.