5000 Francs CFA General Gnassingbe Eyadema

Gnassingbé Eyadéma seized power in Togo in January 1967 — the first successful military coup in sub-Saharan African history led by a non-commissioned officer. By 1977, when this piece was struck, he had consolidated absolute control and was actively cultivating a personality cult that included commissioning commemorative coinage bearing his likeness, a practice more associated with monarchies than the revolutionary rhetoric his regime preferred.

These issues were produced for the international collector market rather than domestic circulation. Togo's actual currency remained the West African CFA franc, administered by the BCEAO across eight nations — Eyadéma had no unilateral authority over it.