5000 Francs CFA Baby Smilodon

Burkina Faso has no historical or cultural connection to Smilodon — the saber-toothed cat was native to the Americas and had been extinct for roughly 10,000 years before any human settlement of West Africa. This is a pure collector issue, produced under license through a European bullion and novelty coin distributor, using Burkina Faso's issuing authority as a convenient vehicle. The country has been a prolific source of such thematic silver pieces since the early 2000s, its name lending nominal sovereign legitimacy to products aimed squarely at the novelty numismatic market.